


Gargoyle Hime

by Dreamfall07



Category: Mai-HiME
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-02 23:58:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4078903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamfall07/pseuds/Dreamfall07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natsuki is a gargoyle. Or lets better say she’s half gargoyle and half human. Many years ago she was cursed and the mage, who did this knew, that Natsuki hated nothing more than humans. So he spoke a spell, that she would turn every morning into a human. One side effect of this spell was, that she turned immortal. She had to live like this for the rest of her life, until one of the mage relatives broke the spell. But up until now she didn’t find one. And I’m sure you know who will be the mysterious relative ;)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Here I am with a brand new story. It just popped up in my head. Maybe I should stop watching so much TV ^^ Or maybe not ^^

And don't worry, I will definitely update / finish my other stories. I would never ever abandon one of them :)

Ok, here it is. . . .

Maybe some of you know the TV series Gargoyles. In Germany you can currently watch it on TV. It’s about a small Gargoyle clan and their adventures. You know, fight against villains, meet new people and so on.

Now I tried to use this series as an inspiration for my new story.

**The title might chance later.**

Ok, let me try to summarize my story for you.

 **Summary:** Natsuki is a gargoyle. Or lets better say she’s half gargoyle and half human. Many years ago she was cursed and the mage, who did this knew, that Natsuki hated nothing more than humans. So he spoke a spell, that she would turn every morning into a human. One side effect of this spell was, that she turned immortal. She had to live like this for the rest of her life, until one of the mage relatives broke the spell. But up until now she didn’t find one. And I’m sure you know who will be the mysterious relative ;)

**Gargoyle Hime**

Chapter 1:

It was a sunny Friday morning as a lone figure wandered through the city. Only a few hours ago she had arrived here and now she wanted to get familiar with this new place. Maybe it was the last stop on her long journey.

She watched the other people rush through the city. They didn’t see each other. Everybody looked for himself. But all these other people didn’t matter to her. Her only goal was to find one person and one person alone.

For now she had to search like every other „human“ would. Walk around the city and observe the people. She prayed that sunset would come soon, because she really disliked her human form. But she had learned over many years that it was easier to walk around and continue her search like this, then in her real form. This one had its advantages and disadvantages. Nonetheless would she continue her journey, as long as it would take. She was immortal after all, so time was not an issue.

Several hours later her time as human being was finally up. She went into an empty and dark street. Moments later her body started to transform into its original shape, a gargoyle. Her wings began to grow out of her back, her body changed colour, now it was dark blue, her hands turned into claws and her eyes became a darker green. A very special colour even for her kind.

After a few painful seconds her transformation was complete and she spread her dark blue wings, enjoying the feeling very much. Immediately she felt at ease in this form. But she had no time to rest. So she jumped at a nearby stone wall and climbed up until she reached the roof.

The sight from up there was beautiful. She liked the night and all it different colours. The city lights shone brightly into the sky. It fascinated her every time she saw this.

With heightened spirits she spread her wings once again, but this time she flew into the sky to start her “mission”.

At the same time a few miles away at the other end of the city:

A young woman just got home from a very exhausting day. Three of her colleagues were ill, so she had to do their work too. She was glad to finally leave the police department and thankful for two days of vacation.

She parked her car in the garage and went already half asleep into her apartment. Before she could go to bed there was one thing she had to do. It didn’t matter how tired she was, this was one peculiar thing she couldn’t stop doing.

Everyday after she got home, she prepared herself one cup of hot and delicious green tea. It was her favourite. She could only sleep after she had drunk it. She didn’t know why.

So she waited for the water to boil. Minutes later she got what she wanted and was finally ready for a good nights sleep. It wouldn’t surprise her, if she slept the two days of vacation non-stop.

The brunette changed into her nightwear and immediately laid herself down on the soft mattress. Her wine-red eyes closing in an instant. Her breathing slowed down and she succumbed to the dream world, where hopefully only sweet dreams waited for her.

Somewhere in the sky above the city:

Natsuki liked the feeling when the soft breeze caressed her wings softly. It felt like it welcomed her. After several minutes of just gliding through the sky, she landed on one of the highest buildings in the city. It was really difficult to find one specific person in this big city. It was very tiresome, but there was one point, that would help her to find this special someone. This point was the aura, that surrounded this person. Even if this human didn’t know their lineage, Natsuki knew immediately who this person was. A light red glow would signal her her target. Only she had the ability to see it, no one else. So her only task was to fly through this city at night and walk through it as human by day and one day she would find this person for sure.

Still it was a tough task and she searched for her / him for more than 900 years now. But she would search another 900 years to become a real gargoyle once again.

She looked down at all the different people. Even if she didn’t know them, she hated them with all her heart. As a young and inexperienced gargoyle she had made the mistake and trusted one of these human beings. That was her downfall. She was betrayed by the person she trusted the most. Never in her life did she want to experience this again.

Only staying on the rooftop for a few minutes, she spread her wings and continued her mission, even if she was really tired.

Natsuki searched the whole night, but didn’t find anything. It was frustrating. How long would she be on this journey?

She looked for a safe place and landed. Of course she didn’t want to transform into a human when flying. That could hurt a little bit.

Luckily there was a big park nearby, so she hid behind a few trees until her transformation was complete and she turned once again into a species she didn’t want to be. One thing she was thankful for was, that she didn’t need to worry about clothes because somehow her clothes changed along with her, so that she was not naked when she transformed into a human.

As she stepped into the morning light a loud grumbling sound was heard. Natsuki was hungry, but she didn’t have money to buy something. She had to wait till sunset, because it was easier to hunt as a gargoyle, than as a human. And she didn’t like the idea of stealing food. Her pride forbade her such actions.

For now she was satisfied with just walking around the park and enjoying the new day. A seldom privilege she did once in a while.

After one hour of just walking she got bored and decided to enjoy a cold breeze. The park was not far from the ocean, so Natsuki walked the few miles, until she could smell the fresh salt water and see the different kinds of ships sailing to and fro the city harbor.

She could watch this peaceful scenery only a few minutes until a gunshot was heard. Ending this moment in an instant.

Natsuki looked around, but saw nothing.

Then another gunshot echoed through the warehouses near the ocean. Not one to miss the action Natsuki carefully walked into the direction she thought the gunshots came from.

But unfortunately there was no fight. Only a few man were there and it looked like they were only testing their new toys.

Natsuki sighed. _And I thought I could beat some idiots. . .. ._ _Sigh._

“Hey Takeda these are very nice weapons. Where did you get them?” One of the man asked another, who obviously was their leader.

“This is my little secret. But believe me, the cops won’t last long, when we fight them the next time.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” They all smirked evilly.

“Finally it’s pay-back time. And this arrogant detective is mine! Do you understand? She embarrassed me the last time.” Takeda got a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Natsuki decided to let them be. It was not her fight. She had other things to take care of.

Instead she chose to take a few hours off and rest in the warm sand at the beach. She found a relatively secluded area and laid down. One day vacation couldn’t be so bad. She had eternity to find this person or the next one for this matter. She was in no haste and damn was she tired.

A few seconds after she laid in the warm and soft sand, she was fast asleep, but still on guard.

Meanwhile a tired brunette was disturbed by her ringing cell phone. She knew who it was and that meant, that her vacation was over, before it really started. What a shame.

Sighing she picked up her cell phone and answered it.

“Fujino speaking.”

“Good morning Fujino-san. Sorry to interrupt your vacation, but we got an “invitation” from Takeda. He told us he would blow up a skyscraper, if we don’t corporate and listen to his demands. And you are a specialist when dealing with the mafia, so we need your knowledge.”

“That’s fine with me Kikukawa-san. I’m on my way.”

“Thank you Shizuru. I’ll see you at the department.”

“Ok.”

Shizuru knew, that when her captain used her first name, the case would be really difficult and mostly dangerous.

With new energy Shizuru dressed as fast as possible. She wanted to finally get Takeda and put him into jail. If possible forever.

On her way to the police department her thoughts run wild. What did Takeda want this time? Will she be able to win once again or was this her last case? Sometimes you could get the impression, that Takeda was an idiot. It was true most of the time, but there were moments even he got a good idea and you should be careful. Never underestimate your enemy.

One lesson learned as a freshman at the police academy.

15 minutes later / police station:

Shizuru walked through the main entrance and immediately took the path to her boss‘ office. This new case was urgent. Nobody had to tell her that. As her boss mentioned Takeda, she knew this one fact in an instant.

She knocked politely and waited for a response which she got after a few seconds. She opened the door and stepped inside. Shizuru was not the only one besides her boss. Two of her colleagues waited also in this room.

“Good morning Shizuru-san.”

“Good morning Mai-san, Mikoto-chan.”

“Morning Shizuru.” Mikoto greeted her happily.

Mikoto was the youngest detective, but very talented nonetheless. And Shizuru saw in her a little sister she never had. They were a little family. Secretly Shizuru saw it like this, because she never had a family, that cared for her like her colleagues do. She loved being around them and she felt not so alone anymore.

Two years ago she transferred from Kyoto to Fuuka and she never regretted her decision. She was finally at home.

Her happy thoughts were interrupted as her boss began to fill them in about their current situation.

“Ok, everybody’s here. Let us begin. This morning we got a letter from Takeda. He wrote, that he would destroy one building here in Fuuka, if we don’t cooperate with him. Of course, I don’t intend to do what he wants, but firstly we will play after his rules. There’s no other choice.”

“What does he want?” Shizuru asked.

“It’s quite simple. He only wrote down an address and wants to meet us there today at 8 pm. If you ask me, I think it’s a trap. He’s planning something.”

“But, as you said before. We don’t have a choice.”

“Yeah, I know. You have to be careful. He said, if we sent backup, he would destroy the building immediately. So only the three of you will be there. Do you think you can handle that?”

All three answered as one.

“Yes!”

“Ok, then it’s settled. Be careful.” Yukino didn’t like the idea of them going alone, but what should she do? Risking others people’s life was not an option.

The three woman walked out of Yukino’s office and decided to prepare a plan, if this was really a trap. Nobody spoke about it, but they all thought the same. This time, Takeda would not be so easy to stop like all the other times.

Shizuru’s office:

“Ok Shizuru-san how do you think we should prepare ourselves? I mean you’re the detective who has the most experience with Takeda.”

“I thought about it and that case is really difficult, especially since we are only three people. And we don’t have backup. We can’t afford mistakes.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Ok, I think we should split up into two groups I will talk with Takeda and you two wait until I need your help. If anything happens you two are my backup.”

“But Shizuru-san. . .. That is really dangerous to face him alone.”

“I know, but there is no other option. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” Shizuru smiled to reassure her colleagues, but deep inside an inner voice asked her if she was crazy. Takeda was most likely not alone and she was an easy target for him like this.

Time went by really fast and it was time to meet Takeda.

He choose to meet up with the officers at the harbour, because this was his terrain and his man could hide there to ambush the police officers. This would be his last meeting with Fujino Shizuru.

“Where are these stupid cops? Don’t they know how important it is to be punctual?” Takeda was getting angry.

“Don’t worry boss, they should be here at any moment.”

Five minutes later a silver corvette parked in front of the building. The main doors were opened and you could see Takeda standing in the middle of the room with two of his men.

“Good luck Shizuru-san. Hopefully you don’t need backup.”

“We will see.”

Shizuru stepped out of the car and gracefully walked up to Takeda. She observed every movements around her. She knew that something was up, but not knowing what it was, was really hard and a little bit frightened.

“Good afternoon Fujino-san. It’s a pleasure to see you. If possible you are even more beautiful than the last time.” Takeda smiled.

“Good afternoon Masashi-han. I wished I could tell you the same thing. But unfortunately I want to get straight down to business.”

“That’s a shame. . .” Takeda smiled one of his evil smiles and glared at Shizuru.

Shizuru got a bad feeling right then and there. Maí was right. It was a huge mistake to step into this building alone.

She heard a loud screeching noise and looked back. There two of Takeda’s men closed the heavy steel gates. Now she was trapped. Mai and Mikoto wouldn’t be able to help her now.

“So, now we can talk. I think you know that this was a trap. I mean it is quite obvious now, don’t you think.”

“Yes, but why?”

“Why? You really ask me why?” Takeda was shouting. Was this woman for real? She embarrassed him countless times and she had the nerve to ask why?

“Let me tell you one thing. This is definitely the last time we will face each other.”

Seconds later Shizuru was surrounded by four men with guns. There was no time to react and aim her gun at them. She had to escape somehow. Within seconds she knocked two of them to the ground and ran past them. Her goal clear. Running until she reached the small back door. A few steps separated her from her escape route. It all happened so fast. The men regained their composure too quickly and they fired. Luckily they were missing their target, but one bullet pierced through Shizuru’s shoulder. She felt the searing pain run through her whole body, but there was no time to stop and rest. So she slammed with all her weight and the uninjured shoulder into the door, opening it in the process and running as fast as possible to get more distance between her and her followers.

Meanwhile:

Natsuki woke up to loud gunshots. She knew immediately, where this shots came from. _These stupid idiots are firing once again. They are so_ _annoying._ Natsuki growled under her breath and lifted her upper body to let her eyes travel to the warehouse she past by earlier that day.

What she saw there let her blood freeze immediately. _No, it can’t be. . . This . . .This is. . ._

There running into the woods was a young woman, a glowing red light surrounding her. Natsuki almost instinctively followed her. She was a few meters away. She didn’t want to be found by her followers, who where screaming and shouting.

A sweet scent came across her nostrils. _She’s bleeding._

She wanted to panic. Finally she found the person after all these years and she was under attack and her life was threatened. _I have to do something. I can’t let her die._

She looked back to see what she wanted to see. The sun was going down. She was now able to rescue this woman. Running faster as to not loose track, she started to transform. Ignoring the pain she just ran. Never leaving the form of the woman with her eyes.

Then it happened. The woman fell hard onto the ground. Natsuki immediately looked back to see her followers approaching. She didn’t have time. She had to flee with her, but how. She didn’t know, if she worsened her condition, if she carried her around. So her only option was to scare or kill those guys. No one and nothing would come between her and her goal.

 _Ok guys, let’s see what you can do against me._ Smiling evilly she hid in the shadows to kill one by one.

“Where is she?” Takeda was furious. His plan was perfect. He had seen, that one of the bullets hit home.

“I don’t know Takeda, but she can’t be far away. Her wound is bleeding heavily.”

“Tch. . .”

“Aaaaaahhhhhhh. . . .”

“What was that?” They looked around, but they saw absolutely nothing.

“Where’s Marc?”

“Don’t know. I saw him only seconds ago.”

“Someone’s here. Maybe she brought some backup?”

The four men couldn’t see anything in the shadows, but Natsuki could see them clearly. She knew now who the leader was.

_Better attack him now, then the others will flee._

Stepping out of her hiding place she growled and her eyes glowed red in the darkness. As they saw her, two of them wet their pants and were unconscious in seconds.

“W-w-w-what is t-t-this?”

“I-I-I d-don’t know.” Takeda was trembling and he was unable to fire his gun.

Natsuki charged at the remaining men and hit one unconscious, leaving only Takeda there. With one of her claws she scratched his face and vanished. _This should be enough._

Takeda was on the ground, wincing in pain.

With Mai / Mikoto:

The two of them heard the gunshots, but were unable to help Shizuru.

“Mai, what should we do? Shizuru’s in danger.” Mikoto had tears in her eyes.

“I don’t know Mikoto. Let’s call for help. Hopefully it won’t be too late until they are here.”

They run back to the car and called for help, praying that Shizuru was still alive.

With Shizuru:

_Can’t get unconscious._ Shizuru was thinking this sentence again and again, but she felt her eyes get heavy and her body wouldn’t move one bit. She knew that, if Takeda found her, she was dead. Her ruby eyes closed slowly. The last thing she heard were soft footsteps coming closer.

**OMAKE:**

Natsuki: "One moment. I don't get it. Why do I have to be the "monster" all the time?"

Shizuru: "Because Natsuki is so adorable as evil little monster." *giggles lightly*

Natsuki: "SHIZURU!" *blushes furiously*

Author: "No problem, I'll change the story."

Natsuki: "Thank you."

Author: *rewrites the story* "Ok, now your're Takeda's girlfriend."

Natsuki: "WHAT!?"

Shizuru: *summons her naginata and smiles at author*

Author: "He he, just joking?" *runs for her life* "Please don't kill me. . . . .

That's my new story. I hope you'll like it. :)

I watched the TV series and thought, hey why not write something about Shiznat and combine them with gargoyles?

Let me know what you think.

Please R&R

See ya

 


	2. Chapter 2

I cant' believe how fast I update this story. It's magic ^^ But I really like writing this story.

This chapter is a little bit shorter than the first one, but hey. . .I updated the story ^^

 

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing :(**

 

Chapter 2:

Natsuki approached the unconscious human. She was glad, that she didn’t have to deal with a screaming woman, because she hasn’t seen a gargoyle in her whole life. But, what should she do now with her? She was hurt and a hospital was out of the question. If she showed up at a hospital, there would definitely break out a panic. So her only option was to find a hiding place and tend to her wounds. Further she prayed, that the woman would stay unconscious till sunset, so she could transform before facing her.

Natsuki carefully lifted the woman up, carrying her bridal-style. Then she spread her dark wings and flew into the night sky. The woman in her arms stirred slightly, but didn’t wake up.

Luckily she found a small house in the woods near the beach. Hopefully they would be alone for the rest of the night. She didn’t want someone walk in on them and call the police.

She carefully landed near the house and inspected the vicinity. The coast was clear. The main door was locked, but that was no problem. Within seconds the door was opened and she walked inside with the injured woman.

Finding a bed, she laid her down, covering her with a blanket, that would keep her warm. Then she looked for a first aid-kit and found it in the bathroom.

Coming back with everything she needed, she sat next to the sleeping woman and was faced with another difficulty.

She had to take of her clothes to properly take care of her wound. _Sigh, you can’t be serious._

Thinking about undressing the sleeping woman, Natsuki blushed furiously. She was thankful, that nobody was around to see her blushing face.

_Ok Natsuki, stop thinking, just concentrate on saving her life. You desperately need her!_

So Natsuki slowly pulled the blanket off of the unconscious woman and then unbuttoned the white blouse she was wearing. The blouse was stained with the woman's blood and was now almost completely red.

After a few minutes she was able to get her arms out of the blouse. The bleeding thankfully stopped, but the wound looked still bad. _She lost a lot of blood._

Natsuki cleaned the wound carefully and looked, if the bullet was still inside. There was nothing, so she could concentrate on bandaging the injured shoulder. This task was difficult enough. The only positive aspect was, that the woman wasn’t moving around. This made her work a lot easier.

_Sigh, finally done. This was never one of my talents. I hope she survives the night. Don’t want to wait another 100 years to find a relative._

Totally exhausted, Natsuki laid down on the couch near the bed, after she put back the first aid-kit, of course.

Within seconds she was asleep. The exhaustion finally catching up to her. Even if she didn’t do that much, her body couldn’t stay awake. And she felt save enough, that the woman would sleep through the night peacefully. Little did she know, that the brunette would wake up hours before sunrise. Causing a lot of trouble for Natsuki.

 

A few hours later:

Shizuru felt immediately alarmed, as her brain started slowly functioning again . She was not in the woods anymore. It felt warm, like a bed. Had Takeda found her and kidnapped her? She listen closely to any sound, but there were none. Was she alone in this room? Carefully she opened her eyes and looked around the small dark room.

_Where am I?_

Inspecting the room further, she found a window. It was dark outside. _How many hours passed since I lost conscience? And am I really alone here?_

She tried to lift her upper body, but she was still very weak and her shoulder hurt like it was on fire. So her first attempt failed. This didn’t stop her from a second or third try.

Losing her strength, she was able to sit up after the fourth try. Panting heavily she held her shoulder to ease the pain, but that didn’t help. It felt like the pain increased with each second.

_I have to find my savior or my captor. I can’t get unconscious again._

She looked around once again. This time she had a better position to observe the whole room. Now she was sure, that she was alone in here. But how long would it be this way? She didn’t want to find out and so she silently walked across the room. Her eyes never stopping to scan the room, if somebody hid in the shadows.

Under a lot of pain she reached the front door. Her breathing got faster and faster with each passing minute. She didn’t know, if she was able to walk long in this state, but to stay here was not an option.

Slowly opening the door, she faced something, she thought was a legend. A fairytale to scare small children. She knew immediately what was in front of her, because as a little child she loved to read fairytales about these creatures.

_A gargoyle._

Shizuru stepped back, as the monster approached her. What should she do? There was nothing to use as a weapon.

In her panic, she stumbled backwards, losing her balance. But to her surprise, she didn’t hit the hard floor. Something caught her arm.

Shizuru looked up and saw guarded green eyes watching her. What now? She knew, that her strength didn’t match the one of this beast. If it wanted to eat her, there was nothing she could do.

But the monster let go of her arm and then it scooped Shizuru up bridal-style.

This got Shizuru struggling for her survival. But it was no use. The gargoyle held her in an iron grip. She was too weak to escape.

“Stop struggling or your wound opens up again.”

This husky voice got her out of her panic mode and she looked up to gaze at the green eyed monster. Did it just talk to her? No, this was an animal after all and animals can’t talk, can they?

The gargoyle placed her gently onto the bed and stepped back as to give her room to breathe and to cool down.

Shizuru trembled slightly, but she didn’t want to show that she was frightened by this gargoyle. If you show a weakness, it would eat you immediately.

But Natsuki caught the scared look in the brunettes eyes and sighed. She didn’t want the woman to be afraid of her. She needed her and therefore she would never hurt her. But how to tell her that. As she approached the trembling red-eyed woman, she saw her eyes widen slightly. So she stopped and tried another approach.

“I won’t hurt you. Please. . . don’t be afraid.” She spoke gently, her voice deepening in the process. It was strange to talk to a human like she cared, but she knew that shouting wouldn’t help her in this situation.

 _Did. . .did it just talk?_ Shizuru was confused.

On the other hand Natsuki was getting impatient. Her temper rising with each second. _Why is she looking at me like that? Yeah, I’m a gargoyle. . .bear with it._

“Listen, I don’t have all day and I’m really uncomfortable with you looking at me like that. So. . .uhm. . .could you please stop?”

Shizuru was taken aback by this request. Of course she was staring. There was a gargoyle, a talking gargoyle in front of her and she should stop looking at it? No way.

Then she saw something, that was even more unbelievable than a gargoyle.

_Is it. . .no, it can’t be. The gargoyle is blushing._

_Gah, she’s still looking at me . . ._

Natsuki didn’t know how long she could stand this treatment. It was getting on her nerves and the blush wasn’t very helpful either.

“Gargoyle-san? May I ask a question?” Shizuru wasn’t as afraid as a few minutes before. The blush easing her worries a lot.

The gargoyle met her eyes and answered.

“Don’t call me that. It sounds stupid. My names Natsuki. So, what do you want to ask?”

_A really nice name._

“I wanted to know, why am I here? What happened?”

Natsuki wasn’t sure, if she should tell this woman the truth, but her eyes told her, that she wouldn’t believe anything but that. So she explained the whole story, that she was resting at the beach, heard gunshots and rescued the bleeding woman. The detail about needing her help was left out. This was something she didn’t need to know just yet

“I thought gargoyles became stone statues at day? Why were you able to walk around?” She didn’t know why, but she got the feeling, that this question made the gargoyle look at her with a sad expression, but why. To her it was a normal question and she was very curious.

“Let’s just say, that not all fairytales are true. And you were lucky, that I wasn’t a stone statue that time, otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

“Yes, you’re right. Thanks for rescuing me, Natsuki.”

The sound of her name sent a pleasant chill down her spine. She gave the woman a small nod, unable to speak at this time.

Shizuru looked the gargoyle up and down. She never saw one and this was a chance you only get once.

The gargoyle saw the red eyes wander across her body, but didn’t comment on that. She didn’t know why, but the gaze of this woman didn’t disturb her as much as others did throughout the years.

“What’s your name?”

Shizuru looked into the dark green eyes once again. _Did she catch me looking?_ Deciding against this option, she answered truthfully.

“I am Fujino Shizuru. Nice to meet you.”

Natsuki gave another nod, because she was distracted by the small beats of sweat, that had formed on Shizuru’s forehead.

_I’m an idiot. She’s still in pain and very weak and I try to talk her to death._

Slowly approaching the brunette again, Natsuki wanted to lay her down on the bed, but obviously Shizuru got the wrong impression and panicked again. As Natsuki got within reach she tripped her over, so that she landed face first on the bed.

Meanwhile Shizuru made a run for the front door. _I figured, that I couldn’t trust her. She’s an animal after all._

Not looking back, she reached the door, only to be stopped by two arms encircling her waist from behind.

“Oh no, you don’t.”

Her panic winning over her rational thinking, she started struggling against the demon. But this didn’t last long. A few seconds later her breath came in short pants and her strength was completely gone.

_No, I don’t want to die here._

She felt the creature move with her, until she was laid down once again on the soft bed, but this time she was covered with a blanket.

She looked confused at the gargoyle. She wondered why she was still alive. She had read, that gargoyles were monsters, feeding on human flesh.

“Stay there. . .please. I told you, that it’s not my intention to hurt you.”

“But why are you helping me? I don’t understand that. I thought, that you would. . . “

“That I would eat you?” Natsuki laughed. “That’s typical for humans to think that. But if I really wanted to eat you, I could have done that outside as you were unconscious, don’t you think.”

“But what guarantees me, that when I fall asleep you won’t eat me then?”

Natsuki walked back to the couch and got something to help ease the woman’s fears. It was her gun.

“Here, if you think I want to eat you. . . shoot.” With this she turned around and sat on the couch.

 _This is getting difficult._ Natsuki sighed and rubbed her forehead with her right hand.

Shizuru on the other hand was now utterly confused. The gargoyle just gave up a trump card she held against her. Now she was able to defend herself, if necessary.

She knew, that Natsuki would not eat her, so she made herself comfortable and succumbed to dreamland. Her eyes were very heavy and her body wanted nothing more then to sleep and regain the lost energy. So she granted this wish.

Natsuki followed her example short after. Not afraid to wake up and facing Shizuru’s gun.

 

Now I'm reall tired. I think I can't write for a few months. . .

Just joking ^^ I will write till my fingers are bleeding.

Please R&R

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Hi guys, here's the next chapter of **Gargoyle Hime.** It's a little bit shorter than the other two, but hopefully you'll like it too :)

It was written in a very short time, so there might be a lot of mistakes ^^

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!!**

 

** Chapter 3: **

Natsuki was the first one to open her eyes and greet the new day. Luckily she felt no pain this time, because her transformation was complete before she woke up. She was glad, that this didn't wake her up though.

Another thing she was thankful for, was the fact, that she was still alive and the woman obviously wasn't as dangerous as she thought. Or this was because of her injury. She was weak and not in the condition to walk around and fight gargoyles.

This brought a small smile on Natsuki's face. This woman was very strong and capable of fighting, even if her wounds must hurt like hell. She had to be careful around her. One wrong step and she could be at gunpoint.

Ignoring this thought, she walked into the kitchen to grab a small snack. The owner hopefully didn't mind. She was very hungry and her patient would hopefully sleep a little bit longer. But she wasn't very sure, that she had enough time to sit in the kitchen and relax. Yesterday proofed, that the brunette was full of surprises.

 

With Shizuru:

_My shoulder hurts like hell. . ._

Shizuru slowly opened her eyes, but closed them immediately as the bright light shone into her still sleepy eyes.

A few seconds later she opened her eyes again, blinking rapidly, because of the sun shining through the window. Then she scanned the room for any signs of the creature she met yesterday. Not finding any, she got the impression that it was all her imagination.

_Maybe because of the blood loss, I thought that. . ._

Her trace of thought was interrupted as a figure stepped through the kitchen door. A beautiful raven-haired woman with breathtaking viridian orbs, which were staring back at her.

 _Who is this?_ Shizuru was confused. Shouldn't here not stand a gargoyle? Why is this woman here in the house? Maybe this was her home and she was the intruder?

Deciding to make the first step, she opened her mouth to say something, but the other woman cut her off.

"Morning sleepyhead. How's your shoulder?"

Natsuki smiled and walked up to the woman, sitting next to her on the bed.

Shizuru reacted immediately and grabbed her gun, pointing it at the woman next to her. The blunette watched her every move calmly.

"Who are you?" Shizuru held her weapon tight and aimed it at the woman, ready to fire at any moment.

_Sigh. . . This woman is really a hand full._

Natsuki knew that she was stronger as this woman right now, but she didn't want to hurt her. She needed her trust.

So, within seconds she pinned her down onto the mattress, careful not to press on her wounded shoulder. In her surprise the woman let go of the gun. Natsuki immediately grabbed the gun and threw her a few meters away.

She saw the fright in the woman's eyes and wanted to slap herself for this stupid move. But that was her personality. Act and think later. _Natsuki, you idiot. Now she's afraid all over again._

Shizuru couldn't believe her luck. Yesterday she was threatened by a gargoyle and now by this woman. It couldn't get any worse.

Then she heard a small whisper coming from above. She looked up and saw sad green eyes looking down at her.

"I'm sorry."

Natsuki blushed as she saw the woman under her gaze so captivated at her. The blush intensified as her senses returned and she recognized the position they were in.

She was on top of this human and pressing her into the mattress. Both her hands pressed the woman's shoulders down to give her no space to fight back. But one hand was very careful not to hurt the injured shoulder.

When she was sure, that the woman wouldn't try to attack her again, she left her position and sat next to the lying woman, unable to face her, because of the blush adorning her face.

 _Ara, she's not so scary with the cute blush._ Shizuru slowly lifted herself up. She didn't want to risk a repeat of this "attack".

"Ano, would you be so kind and tell me your name stranger-san?" Shizuru asked as politely as possible.

Natsuki looked at her for a moment and then sighed deeply.

"I told you my name yesterday."

Shizuru couldn't remember ever meeting this stunningly beautiful woman.

"You must be mistaken, miss. We've never met before, I. . . "

"Ok, let me explain this to you. My names Natsuki and you met me yesterday. I was the gargoyle." Natsuki was getting annoyed.

"You can't . . ."

"Believe me, I can."

"But how is this possible? You look like a . . ."

"Human? Yeah, I know and I'm not happy about looking like this." Natsuki looked away. She had to control her anger, otherwise she would scare this woman and then she wouldn't help her.

_Why is she so angry? She is really beautiful. Ara? I should control myself a little bit better._

"Sorry, I didn't want to offend you. . ." Shizuru bowed her head in shame.

Natsuki seeing this started to panic. _Gah. . .I didn't want her to get sad. Do something you idiot!_

"Uhm. . .. y-y-you don't h-have to apologize. You did n- n-nothing wrong. It has nothing to do with you.. ."

The last part was a lie, but it seemed that Natsuki's little speech cheered Shizuru up a little bit.

"That's a relief." Shizuru smiled. "So, what are we going to do now?"

Natsuki was confused. What should they do? She hadn't thought so far. She didn't even know how to get the woman to cooperate. Her plan was only to find a relative. Now she sat here with one and didn't have the slightest idea how to proceed.

So she used one of her rare talents: improvisation

"I think first we should get you to a hospital and then. . .I don't know." Natsuki scratched her head sheepishly.

"Why didn't you bring me to a hospital yesterday?" As soon as she asked this question, she knew the answer.

"Ah, sorry, I forgot that you are a gargoyle. . ."

Natsuki only nodded in understanding, not really in the mood to yell at the woman, because she forgot that Natsuki was a gargoyle and not one of those disgusting humans. She was merciful, because the woman was still in pain.

"Ok, I think we should get going. Can you stand?"

Shizuru tried to stand up, but her legs gave out. If Natsuki hadn't reacted this fast, she would have hit the hard floor definitely. Now she was securely held in the arms of her savior.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Natsuki smiled, but was at the same time thinking how to get the woman to the next hospital. As gargoyle it would have been a piece of cake, but as human you had to use other transportations.

"Even if this is a little bit embarrassing, bear with it until we can catch a cab, ok?"

"What do you mean with. . .aaahhh. . ."

Shizuru was scooped up bridal-style in Natsuki's arms. Her face turned slightly red, because she didn't expect the woman to carry her all the way.

"Ready?"

Shizuru only nodded and avoided eye contact with the blunette. She was right. It was definitely embarrassing, but she didn't have another choice.

The two woman walked back through the harbor. It was a good thing, that there weren't many people around to see this picture.

Shizuru was so exhausted, that her head laid against Natsuki's neck and her arms were loosely draped around her neck. She wanted to stay awake, but her eyes didn't follow her order. So they slowly closed, her breathing slowed down and she was once again fast asleep.

Natsuki noted, that the woman in her arms was very silent. She looked down, to confirm that everything was alright and saw her peacefully sleeping in her arms.

_Tch. . .and a few hours ago she wanted to run away from me. What a strange woman._

Not in the slightest bothered, that she had to carry the woman around, she made her way to one of the many streets. Hoping that a cab would stop and take them to the nearest hospital. The woman in her arms lost a lot of blood and because of that she was so sleepy. She needed help as fast as possible.

Luckily the first cab stopped and Natsuki placed Shizuru gently onto the back seat. Then she told the driver to speed up a bit. His answer was a quick nod, because the look in the blunette's eyes frightened him to death.

10 minutes later they were at a hospital. Natsuki paid the driver with money she found in Shizuru's purse. She hoped that the brunette wouldn't mind that. It was an emergency and she hadn't had another choice.

The process after she went through the front door was very quick. She grabbed the first man who looked like a doctor and told him, that this woman in her arms was badly wounded. After that Shizuru was brought into the operation room.

Natsuki wanted to know desperately how good or bad Shizuru's condition was, but to evade uncomfortable questions, she left the hospital without anyone noticing. She knew where the woman was, so she could come back anytime she wanted. Even if Shizuru would get out of the hospital, she knew where her apartment was. This one information did she get, as she searched for money and found Shizuru's ID card.

With a last glance at the huge white building, Natsuki left the place through one of the many streets. She would come back tomorrow. She doubted, that the staff would let a gargoyle visit a patient.

 

With Shizuru:

_Where am I? And why's my head hurting?_

Opening her eyes slowly, she recognized the place she was in immediately.

_A hospital? How did I get here?_

Just then the door opened and a woman in a white "uniform" stepped inside.

"Ah, hello little girl, you're finally awake." The woman approached Shizuru and stopped next to the bed.

"Hello. Who are you? And why. . .?"

The doctor held a hand up to stop Shizuru's endless flood of questions.

"I am doctor Sagisawa, but just call me Yohko. You were brought her four hours ago. A young woman carried you through the front door, but she disappeared shortly after, so we couldn't get anymore details about your injury."

"Four hours?"

"Yes, you are lucky, because your blood type is very rare and we just got a new delivery. How did you get this wound?"

"I was shot. I'm a police officer and you could say I dealt with the wrong people."

"Yeah, but you're save now. We gave you some medication to ease the pain and you'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"Thanks doctor."

"That reminds me. . .. I didn't get your full name as you were brought here."

"Oh, sorry. My name's Fujino Shizuru."

"Ok, thank you Fujino-san. Do you want to contact anyone? Family, friends?"

"Yes, I'd like to speak to my superior. To let them know, that everything's fine."

"You can use the telephone over there. Just type in one and then the number you want to reach."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll come back in a few hours to check on you. If you need something in the meantime just push the red button over there and a nurse will help you.

"I try to remember that." Shizuru smiled and sighed as the doctor left the room.

_Natsuki, where are you?_

 

This was chapter 3. Hated it liked it??

Let me know . . .please :)

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter. I wrote it in one day :) Hopefully you'll like it.

**Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. . .**

** Chapter: 4 **

Shizuru wasn't sure, if she would see her new „friend" again, but she had to put this thought aside for now, because duty called. So she grabbed the telephone and called her superior.

"Kikukawa Yukino speaking."

"Hello Kikukawa-san. . ."

"F-fujino-san? It's you right? Where are you? Are you hurt. . ."

Shizuru waited patiently until Yukino gave her the peace to tell her the story. Of course she wouldn't tell her about Natsuki, because then she would definitely think, that Shizuru was crazy. She still couldn't believe it herself. It was like a dream to her.

"Hai, it's me. I am currently at the hospital, but don't worry. It's nothing serious. Mai and Mikoto told you what happened. Am I right?"

"Yes, but not the whole story. We searched the area after Tokiha's call immediately for any signs of you, but we couldn't find you. Your colleagues are still out there, trying to find you. I'm glad, that I can tell them, that you are fine."

"I'm sorry, that it didn't go like planed. If I had been a little bit more careful we. . . "

"Don't worry Shizuru. We will catch Takeda. But now rest and I tell everybody that your safe and sound. Call me if you need something."

Shizuru knew that Yukino cared for her very much and everytime she used her first name she knew that she was worried to death.

"Thank you Yukino."

"You're welcome."

After that the line went dead and Shizuru placed the phone back. She was grateful, that her superior didn't thought it was her fault. She would do what Yukino wanted and rest a bit. Until now she didn't know how tired she really was, but her eyes got heavy and a small yawn escaped her mouth.

_I'm so tired. Maybe it's because of the medication._

She laid her head down on the soft cushions and was immediately asleep. The last thought flowing through her head was the name of a certain gargoyle, who had saved her life.

**A warehouse near the city border:**

A young man was sitting on a couch. He was not the only one in this dark room, but the other people were afraid to get close to him. They had heard of the incident a few hours ago and they now saw burning rage in the man's eyes.

Silent whispers were heard. They spoke about him and the police officer who escaped. Some very brave ones laughed, because they remembered him saying what a brilliant plan he had to finally get rid of this officer.

But as his cold eyes travelled in their direction they were immediately silent and shivered in fear. He was not the same as before.

If you looked at him closely, you could see no life in his eyes. The only thought, that got him going was the thought about revenge. He would get the one, who did this to his face. And he would kill the police officer too. Nobody would be able to stop him this time. Even if it costs him his life. That didn't matter. He wanted his revenge and he wanted it as fast as possible.

His anger rising, he threw the glass in his hands at the nearest wall, scattering it into million pieces. His smile grew and an evil smirk adorned his face.

"I'll get you Shizuru and this time nobody will be there to save your sorry ass!"

**With Natsuki:**

Natsuki didn't know why, but every few seconds an image of the injured woman in her arms crossed her mind. She sat on a tree in the park she went through today with Shizuru and her thoughts run wild. But why, she didn't know. She wished she could have stayed in the hospital, but that would have been too much trouble for her. The doctors would have asked a lot of uncomfortable questions.

She looked up into the sky and watched the clouds slowly moving. It was very peaceful here. She found a secluded area, where not so many people walked around as at other places. This gave her the freedom to relax.

_Shizuru. . ._

Her thoughts were once again circling around a certain brunette. What was wrong with her? She met the woman only yesterday and was worried about her health. That was the first time after years that she felt this way and she didn't like this feeling one bit.

She would use this woman and then. . .Her thoughts stopped. What would she do after that? She was all alone in this world. All her friends, the few she had long ago, were all dead and because of a painful incident she never wanted to find new ones.

This was getting on her nerves. So she jumped down and walked to the only destination coming into mind. The hospital. She would sneak in, check on Shizuru and than disappear through the next door. Hopefully that was enough to stop her thoughts from worrying about Shizuru.

**With Shizuru:**

Shizuru awoke to silent whispers and she recognized the voices immediately. It was Mai and Mikoto. She smiled inwardly.

_So they are safe._

Deciding to greet them properly, she opened her eyes and was faced with a crying Mai and a happy smiling Mikoto.

"Mai, Mai, look, Shizuru's awake."

Mai looked at the woman and saw her smiling. This brought fresh tears to her eyes.

"Shizuru-san, I thought, I. . ."

"It's ok Mai-san. Nothing happened. Everything's fine."

"Everything's fine? You got shot, because we weren't there to back you up. . .You could. . ."

"Please stop. It was not your fault. Takeda sat up a trap. You couldn't have done anything to help me. So stop crying and forget this incident. Okay?"

"Okay, if that's your wish. But you really had us worried. How did you get away?"

Shizuru told them the story about her escape and how she fought to stay alive. But she didn't tell them about Natsuki. She wanted to keep this a secret. And an inner voice told her, that Natsuki wanted this too.

"You were lucky, that Takeda's men didn't find you. I promise next time you'll definitely don't have to fight alone."

"Thank you." Shizuru smiled one of her rare real smiles at the two woman.

She knew that they cared for her deeply and she had a warm feeling inside her body. So she couldn't help but smile.

"So, I think we'll let you sleep a bit longer. You must be exhausted after the fight. We'll visit you tomorrow or are they going to release you that soon?"

"I don't know, but I would like to stay at my apartment. I am not very fond of hospitals, you know that."

"Yeah, let me know if you are at home or still here ok?"

"Yes, I'll give you a call."

"Thanks." Mai smiled. "Let's go Mikoto. Shizuru needs her rest."

"But Mai. . .I want to hear more. . . please. . ." Mikoto whined, but Mai showed no mercy. She grabbed Mikoto by the collar and carried her halfway out of the room.

"Bye Shizuru-san. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Mai-san, Mikoto-chan."

Shizuru giggled as she saw the picture in front of her. She could hear the discussion going on even as her door was closed and the two woman walked along the hallway.

_These two. . ._

Her smile was still in place as she heard a soft knock at her door.

_Who could this be._

Shizuru didn't expect another visitor, but she didn't want to be impolite so she spoke.

"Please come in."

Then she saw the one person she thought she wouldn't ever see again.

"Hi Shizuru." Natsuki slowly approached the sitting woman and looked into her eyes for any signs that she was still afraid of her. Not seeing any she sat down next to her on the bed.

"Natsuki?"

"Yes, the one and only."

Natsuki saw that Shizuru was a little bit pale, but otherwise she looked fine. She was relieved that she brought the woman to the hospital just in time.

"What are you doing here?"

"Not happy to see me? I just wanted to check on you." She smiled.

"Ara, did Natsuki miss me already?"

Natsuki's face turned bright red, much to Shizuru's delight. She looked away to hide her face, until her blush died down.

Natsuki looked at Shizuru again and then her eyes travelled to the only window in the room. Her eyes got wide and she had a slightly panicked look on her face. She hadn't thought about the time. It was already that late. How stupid could she be?

"Natsuki? Are you alright?" Shizuru was worried after seeing the frightened look on the blunette's face. What was wrong. A few minutes ago everything seemed fine.

"I. . .I. . .I have to go. I. . ." Her eyes landed ones more on Shizuru.

Shizuru was confused. Did she do something wrong? She wanted to call out to Natsuki again, but was stopped as she saw the pained look on the blunette's face.

"Shit. . ."

That was the last word she heard from Natsuki.

The blunette stood next to the bed and Shizuru saw something, that let her eyes go wide and her hands get slightly sweaty.

In front of her the woman she talked to a few minutes ago was changing her form. Her body colour changed to a dark blue one, at her back grew two large wings and her hands changed into claws.

Shizuru could only watch this silently. The only thing she knew was, that Natsuki must be in a lot of pain.

Her eyes were pressed tightly together and her breathing quickened.

A few seconds later the transformation was complete and in her room was not a woman anymore, it was a gargoyle that was looking back at her with tired eyes.

Shizuru was speechless. What should she do or say? Should she comment on this transformation or keep quiet?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard another knock at the door.

The human and the gargoyle looked at each other with fear in their eyes. They only had seconds, before the door would be opened and the person would see Natsuki.

Shizuru regained her senses faster than Natsuki. She motioned for the gargoyle to hide in the next room. Fortunately her room got an own bathroom.

Natsuki just closed the door, as the other door was opened.

It was doctor Sagisawa.

"Hello Fujino-san. I just wanted to check on you. I hope I didn't wake you up?"

On the outside Shizuru had her mask built up and she looked calm, but on the inside she wanted to scream. This was very bad timing. Her only hope was, that the doctor would leave as fast as possible.

"Hello Yohko-sensei. Yes, everything's fine. I couldn't sleep and just wanted to start reading a book. Maybe this would make me a little bit sleepy." Shizuru smiled.

"Then I wish you a good night."

"Thanks."

Then the doctor left through the door and Shizuru fell back into the cushions. Her heart was beating like she had run for her life.

A few seconds later she heard the bathroom door and saw a head peeking through the door.

"Is it safe?"

 _She's so cute._ Shizuru giggled and gave Natsuki the signal to leave the room.

"That was close." Natsuki sighed and rubbed her neck with her right hand.

She kept her distance to Shizuru, because she didn't know if her presence was still wanted as a gargoyle.

"Natsuki, you don't have to stay there."

Shizuru didn't know why she said that. She was still a bit afraid, especially after that show, she saw a few minutes ago. But then she remembered, that the gargoyle in front of her had saved her life and did nothing to threaten her in any way. So it was safe to trust her, wasn't it?

Natsuki sat down on the bed, but her whole body was tense and her eyes didn't meet Shizuru's.

_I hope she isn't still afraid. I'm so stupid. How could I forget about such an important thing._

Natsuki was all the time thinking how stupid she was and she wore a frown. This brought a smile to the brunette. She wasn't afraid, if Natsuki held such a cute expression.

"Natsuki? Are you hurt?" She didn't know, if she offended the blunette with this question, but she was worried that this transformation had hurt the woman/gargoyle. After all this transformation was a complete restructuring process of Natsuki's body.

"Mh? Oh yeah, sorry. . .It's alright. You could say I'm used to this."

Natsuki had answered without thinking, but this one sentence brought a whole new flood of pain to her heart. She remembered why she had to endure such pain and her eyes got dangerously dark.

Even Shizuru thought, that it was better to keep quiet for a few minutes. The far away look in Natsuki's eyes scared her.

Then she heard suddenly a loud sigh coming from Natsuki and her eyes changed back to the gentle glance they held every time she laid eyes on Shizuru.

_I should forget what happened in the past. Right in front of me is the solution for all the pain. Hopefully I can convince her to help me._

"I'm sorry, sometimes my thoughts are running to places I don't want them to go. It was not my intention to scare you. . .gomen." Natsuki lowered her head. But as she felt a soft hand covering hers, she looked back up and then returned the smile given by Shizuru.

"You don't need to apologize. It's just that I never saw a real gargoyle so I need a little bit time to get comfortable around you."

"That's alright with me. If you want me to stay, I will." Natsuki smiled at Shizuru, her eyes glowing with new life and energy. She felt at peace. It was a good feeling, but would she be able to hold onto it?

Natsuki didn't want to think about it now. She wanted to enjoy the moment as long as it will last.

That was chapter 4. . .

Please R&R

I desperately want to know what you think about this :)

 


	5. Chapter 5

Hi guys, here is the next chapter of my wonderful story :)

I wrote as fast as possible to update the next chapter before the weekend, because I'll be really busy then. . .

AND

Big thanks to all the people, who reviewed my story. I really appreciate the time you take to write one. I doesn't matter if it's a whole text or only a few words.

It makes me happy to read all of them :)

**Dislaimer: Mai Hime belongs to sunrise!**

**Chapter 5:**

Shizuru didn't know why and it didn't really matter to her, but looking into those forest green eyes, she lost the rest of fright she held for Natsuki. And this one sentence Natsuki said to her warmed her whole body with a completely new feeling. One she never got with someone else.

She gazed tenderly at the creature in front of her. She felt safe, albeit this gargoyle could tear her apart with only one hit. Her claws were sharp, she could see this. But even this fact didn't scare her anymore. She trusted Natsuki with every fiber of her body.

"Yes, I would like Natsuki to stay." Shizuru smiled sweetly at her. Her tiredness almost forgotten until a small yawn escaped her mouth.

This brought a smile to Natsuki's face. A smile, that she couldn't stop from appearing. It happened all automatically.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should let you sleep. You must be tired. . ."

Natsuki now stood next to Shizuru's bed, ready to go, but a hand held her wrist, so she couldn't move away.

Her eyes travelled back to Shizuru's with a questioning look.

On the other hand Shizuru wasn't quite sure why she stopped Natsuki. She just got the feeling, that she wouldn't see her again, if she let her leave now.

"Yes?"

"Will. . .Will I see you again?" Shizuru's face adorned a small blush and she felt very shy at that moment. A feeling she very rarely got with other people.

Natsuki seeing the small blush smiled once again. It started to feel natural to smile in Shizuru's presence.

"I'll come back." Natsuki reassured Shizuru.

Then she walked to the window and opened it. She spread her wings and with a last glance at Shizuru she flew away into the night sky.

Shizuru placed a hand on her rapidly beating heart.

It was very unusual for Shizuru to befriend a "person" this fast, but she felt that her and Natsuki had a special bond. As she saw Natsuki for the first time she was afraid, of course, but there was also another feeling, that wanted to tell her something. Something very important, like she had known Natsuki's kind for years and knew that she was real and not just a legend and that they were connected throughout time. But unfortunately that voice vanished short after. However the impression that a challenge awaited her in the future didn't leave her mind.

Shizuru shook her head. Maybe the lack of sleep was catching up to her. Her thoughts were in turmoil and she couldn't make sense of these thoughts.

So she decided to sleep and silenced her mind. The next day would be stressful enough without these thoughts. She had to convince the doctors to let her go. Hospitals were there to help people get well soon, but nonetheless she hated them. She felt a lot more alone in a room like this and this feeling brought back painful memories of her past.

So she would tell them, that she could get enough rest at home and wouldn't overdo things. This was just a little injury. Nothing to worry about and she would definitely feel a hundred times better at home.

With this in mind she let sleep overtake her.

**With Natsuki:**

Natsuki felt very insecure at this moment. Something drew her always back to this woman. Was this because of some connection? This worried her a lot. She never felt the need to convince others, that she was not dangerous. It didn't matter to her, that everybody screamed when they saw her. But with Shizuru that was a totally different story. She wanted the woman to trust her.

_Maybe this is just because I need her. Yeah that must be it. There can't be anything behind this feeling. I'll use her, then I'm outta her._

Finally able to rationalize her new feelings she flew to the park, where she had sat on a tree today. She was tired. All this fighting, if you could call it like that was really exhausting. And she knew that Shizuru was safe.

Her goal was in reach and this brought a smile upon her face.

_I will be a complete gargoyle once again._

Natsuki landed carefully on the ground between the big trees, careful that nobody saw her and sat down to lean with her back at one of them. Closing her eyes she let her body succumb to sleep. Her wings were wrapped around her body to keep her warm and to hide her better in the darkness.

In her dreams she was a young gargoyle once again. Playing and laughing with her old friends. Among them were humans too. The ones she hated now with all her might.

Hundred of years ago her life was wonderful. She didn't know the feeling of betrayal nor did she know the pain of losing a dear person.

She was carefree. Never imagining, that her life could change from one second to another. The person, who betrayed her had been one of her closest friends. At a young age, she would face the consequences of false trust.

This was the last time she would let someone in her heart. The once small icy wall engulfing her fragile heart, since that time, had grown over the years to an insuperable ice wall. Nothing would ever break through it to get the chance to hurt Natsuki once more.

Suddenly she stirred slightly in her dream as it changed into the nightmare she now lived. It was dark and desolate. Everyone was gone. Dead body's laid all across the place. Friends she held dear almost her entire life.

She sank to her knees and an agonizing scream of pain echoed through the empty place.

This woke Natsuki up. Feeling the wetness trail down her cheeks, she allowed herself one moment of weakness. Her knees were bent and her head rested on them. Her tears trailing down her cheeks, sobs were heard in the otherwise empty park.

_Why can't I forget all this? It's been such a long time, but it's still so painful._

Natsuki looked up into the sky. Faces of long lost friends showing before her eyes.

_I miss you all so very much._

It didn't happen often, but sometimes when she was alone and sure that nobody was around watching her, she let her guard down. Then her feelings flowed out and she couldn't control the deep sadness that engulfed her then.

She knew that she had to live with this pain her whole life, but eventually it would get better with time.

Knowing that she wouldn't get anymore sleep she just sat there in silence and let her happy memories resurface again. She wanted to remember the good times, not the ones, which were responsible for the misery she was in now.

Then all of a sudden an image of Shizuru replaced all her other thoughts. This brought a smile to her face. Only thinking about Shizuru made her feel happy all over again. What was this feeling?

_Sigh, better not get too accustomed to this feeling. It will vanish just as fast as it appeared. I'm sure. It's always like this._

**Shizuru's dream:**

She was alone, but where? She turned around and her eyes grew wide.

_That. . .that is. . .a castle._

Shizuru was in front of a huge castle. People passing her like nobody could see her.

"Hello?"

No answer. She was a mere shadow walking through the castle gates.

She looked around and saw many different people chatting with each other or trying to sell something, but what surprised her the most was, that not only humans walked around the castle. There were gargoyles, too.

_Humans and gargoyles? Where am I?_

The two species interacted peacefully with each other. But what caught her attention was one specific gargoyle.

_Could it be. . ._

Even if it was a small one, she recognized her immediately.

_Natsuki. . ._

Right in front of her walked a younger version of Natsuki with someone who was obviously Natsuki's mother. The older gargoyle held Natsuki's hand tenderly, both smiling at each other as they walked down the street.

She followed them and watched the pair closely. She felt that they were happy.

A small boy stopped in front of Natsuki and poked her on the shoulder. Then he started running and shouted back.

"Catch me if you can."

Natsuki only smiled and followed the boy. They played together happily. Trying to catch each other and not long after they had started, others joined them. Gargoyles or humans that didn't matter. They all got along very well.

This brought a real smile to Shizuru's face.

Then the scenery abruptly changed.

Shizuru was speechless. The just so lively place was empty, only dead body's laying on the ground. The whole castle was burning.

She heard a loud scream and searched the place for the source of this pained scream. She found it as a gargoyle walked in her direction.

Natsuki had grown, so this scene must be a few years in the future.

In her hands she held an older gargoyle. A dead body, hanging limply in her arms. Tears trailed down her face and her body was covered in fresh blood.

Shizuru could hear small whispers.

"Mother. . ."

After a few steps Natsuki fell down onto her knees, to weak to carry the dead body any longer. She knelt next to her mother's body.

Shizuru stepped closer, but stilled her movement as Natsuki raised her head. Her eyes glowed blood red and they showed the rage burning inside her body.

Her voice suddenly piercing through the silent and empty streets.

"I WILL GET YOU FOR THAT! YOU HEAR ME!?"

With one final look at her mother she spread her wings and flew away. Her destination unknown to Shizuru.

Shizuru awoke heavily breathing, one hand clutching her chest to still her beating heart.

_What was that just now? A dream?_

Shizuru wasn't quite sure what this dream meant, but one thing was as clear as daylight. She had seen Natsuki's tragic past.

Tears, that were held back throughout the dream now streamed down her cheeks. The pain she felt was only a part of the pain Natsuki must have felt all these years.

_Oh Natsuki. . .I wish I could ease your pain. . ._

She didn't know why she was able to see Natsuki's past, but that didn't matter. All that mattered at the moment was Natsuki.

She never felt so connected to someone. Whatever it was that let her feel this way, she prayed that it would never stop.

Deep within her heart the decision was made to help Natsuki in whichever way she needed her.

Two souls, both wounded deeply throughout time were now reaching out to each other. Time will tell, if they'll find each other and heal their wounds or if they'll stay alone until eternity ends.

Hours later the night as gone and a new day greeted humans, animals and our still slightly sleeping gargoyle. Her transformation complete, she opened her eyes slowly and inhaled the fresh scent of the new morning.

This was the time she liked best. It was silent and you could breathe freely. Filled with new energy she lifted her body. Today she would work on getting Shizuru to fully trust her. The first step was made yesterday. She knew that Shizuru was not afraid of her anymore.

But the problem was, that she had to "work" slowly. Every other approach would make Shizuru suspicious.

She walked out of the small "forest" and decided to visit the brunette. This time sure, that she wouldn't change back into a gargoyle.

**With Shizuru:**

"Fujino-san, are you sure you want leave already?"

Shizuru was fully dressed and ready to go. The only thing stopping her, was the conversation with Doctor Yohko. Her face showing concern.

"Yes, Yohko-sensei. I promise to rest properly at home."

"Sigh. . .I see, arguing with you would definitely be pointless. Okay, you are free to go."

"Thank you very much." Shizuru smiled, bowed and then left the room happily. One more day and she would have tried to escape through the window.

Just as she stepped out of the front door, her eyes caught one person, she didn't expect to show up this fast.

Walking up the few stairs, Natsuki stopped and locked eyes with the woman she couldn't resist to see as often as possible.

"Shizuru. . ."

"Ara Natsuki, did you miss me that much, that you came to rescue me?"

"B-baka. . ." Her face was already bright red.

Deciding to not comment on Shizuru's tease any further, she decided to change the subject.

"Why are you out of bed Shizuru?"

"Ara? If Natsuki wants me back into bed, maybe we can arrange something." Shizuru's voice was low and seductive as she slowly approached Natsuki.

Natsuki's blush had died down, but this tease brought it back in full force.

"Sh-Shizuru!" This was all she could get out with her face burning like a fire extinguisher.

_She's so cute with this blush. I think I just found a new hobby to occupy me._

Smiling she stopped right in front of the blunette, who had her face tilted to the side to avoid being seen with her furious blush.

"Does Natsuki want to accompany me?"

Hearing the soft Kyoto-ben Natsuki gazed back into the wine-red eyes and replied.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Mmh. . .the doctor said, that I still need a lot of rest, so I think it's best if we went straight back to my apartment."

"Sounds like a plan."

Both woman walked smiling to Shizuru's apartment. Natsuki had offered to take a cab, but Shizuru wanted to walk, because she had to lay in bed and could only look out of the window. Now she wanted to enjoy the first day out of hospital.

Natsuki argued, that she was still weak and could collapse any minute, but this brought only a smile onto Shizuru's face and she answered.

"Then Natsuki has to carry me back."

Seeing the blushing face was all she needed to know, that if she really collapsed, Natsuki would definitely carry her.

Wow, this is one of my longest chapters :)

Hope you'll like it.

Let me know what you think. . .please.

See ya

dreamfall07

 


	6. Chapter 6

Finally, here’s the new chapter of my story Gargoyle Hime. Actually I wanted to update this one sooner, but I didn’t have enough time to finish this chapter L

 

I’m extremely sorry. . .

 

AND the next one won’t be up till April. So please be a little bit patient J

 

Thank you.

****

****

****

** Chapter 6: **

After half an hour of walking and endless teasing they finally arrived at Shizuru’s apartment.

 

Natsuki saw a few sweat drops appear on Shizuru’s forehead, but she didn’t comment on Shizuru’s fragile state anymore. This woman was just too stubborn to listen to any of her advices. This made her smile a bit, because she remembered the time when her mother told her something and she wouldn’t listen to her either.

 

Shizuru glanced at the silent woman next to her. She saw the smile. Just as she wanted to let a smile appear on her face, too, Natsuki’s smile vanished.

 

_What are you thinking about Natsuki? I wish I could tell._

 

With one half glance at the blunette Shizuru opened the door and they both went in. Natsuki immediately scanned the area. It was an old habit. She let her eyes sway across the room to make sure that everything was safe.

 

Seeing this Shizuru giggled slightly.

 

“Gomen. . .” Natsuki blushed and looked away.

 

“Don’t worry Natsuki. But this place is safe. Do you want to drink something?”

 

Shizuru wanted to move, but a hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She looked back to see Natsuki’s concerned eyes looking into hers.

 

“Where’s your bedroom?”

 

Shizuru was speechless for a short moment. Her brain suddenly imagining something that definitely wasn’t Natsuki’s intention. But to Natsuki’s dismay, Shizuru couldn’t hold back the tease that had already formed in her head.

 

“Ara Natsuki, are you always this forward? We only know each other for a few days.”

 

Now finally seeing her mistake her face heated up within seconds.

 

“Sh-Shizuru! That w-w-wasn’t meant to come out t-t-this w-way. . .sigh. . .I just want you to rest, that’s all.”

 

“But it’s so boring in this bedroom. I would be all alone. . .” Shizuru’s eyes welled up with unshed tears and she looked like a beaten up puppy at Natsuki.

 

_This woman is unbelievable . . .sigh. . .I never had a choice to begin with._

 

“Okay, I will sit beside you, until you fall asleep.”

 

“Ookini Natsuki.”

 

Shizuru walked into her bedroom, smiling the whole way, because of her victory.

 

Natsuki on the other hand followed the woman, hoping that she would fall asleep very soon, so that she could recover from all her earlier teases.

 

As Natsuki reached the bed, she sat down and waited for Shizuru to come back from the bathroom. She was glad, that Shizuru obviously choose to undress next door and not directly in front of her. That would have been her death.

 

So she waited patiently, like a pup waiting for its master.

 

A few minutes later Shizuru opened the door and smiled at Natsuki.

 

“Ara, Natsuki is waiting for me? That’s really nice of you.”

 

“I didn’t have another choice . . .sigh. . .” _Calm down Natsuki. Don’t speak and she doesn’t get anything to tease you about._

 

But that was definitely not an option. Even if she kept her mouth closed, her face showed a whole lot of emotion. Enough for Shizuru to tease her endlessly.

 

“Natsuki’s thinking face is just too cute.” Shizuru giggled, because she saw the bright red blush appearing on Natsuki’s face.

 

“Can’t you stop for one moment with your teasing?” She looked almost pleadingly into Shizuru’s wine-red orbs.

 

Shizuru stood in front of Natsuki with her thinking pose, one finger tapping her chin as if she really was thinking about the option to let Natsuki be.

 

“I just stopped for one moment. Is that enough for Natsuki?”

 

Natsuki almost fell off the bed as she heard this response.

 

_This woman. . .gah. . ._

 

Regaining her composure she just glared at the brunette.

 

“Just get into bed and rest.”

 

“As Natsuki wishes.”

 

Complying to Natsuki’s demand Shizuru laid herself down. Just as she wanted to cover herself with the blanket, she felt Natsuki move and help her.

 

“Ookini Natsuki.”

 

Natsuki looked away and mumbled a small “You’re welcome.”

 

Her face suffered a small blush without Shizuru even trying to tease her.

 

After that she sat on her spot at the end of the bed, this got her a disappointed look from Shizuru.

 

Looking into the other direction she heard suddenly small sobs coming from the brunette.

 

_Don’t turn around Natsuki._

 

But her body acted on its own accord and turned around. There she saw Shizuru laying on the bed, with her hands covering her face.

 

Immediately she felt guilty. She didn’t know what she did wrong this time. She sat here on Shizuru’s bed and that was what Shizuru wanted, wasn’t it?

 

“Ikezu. ..” She heard the small whisper.

 

“What is wrong?”

 

“Natsuki must think I smell or something like this, because she is sitting as far away as possible.”

 

“N-n-no, Sh-Shizuru, I d-didn’t. . .sigh. . .”

 

Without further apologizing or thinking it over, she moved right beside Shizuru.

 

“Better?” She asked blushing.

 

Giving up her acting immediately, Shizuru smiled at the red-faced blunette and nodded.

 

“Yes, much better.”

 

Natsuki just shook her head. She couldn’t believe this woman. One moment she was crying and seconds later she was happily smiling like nothing had happened. This was really difficult to understand, but Natsuki had to bear with her mood swings, because she wanted to use Shizuru for her own goal.

 

It was only a small price to pay.

 

She looked beside her and saw the brunette soundly asleep.

_After all she must be exhausted._

 

Natsuki had promised to stay by her side, until she fell asleep. So she wanted to stand up and rest a little bit on the couch in the living room, but her plan never had a chance, because Shizuru held her in place. One hand had grabbed Natsuki sleeve, so that she wouldn’t be able to go without Shizuru noticing.

 

_Gah, this woman. . .I swear I. . .I. . . She’s really cute when sleeping. . .WHAT?! Where did that come from?. . .Sigh. . .I think I need a little bit rest too._

 

Without another option she lay down beside Shizuru and covered herself with a second blanket, not wanting to share the same one as Shizuru. That would have gotten her a lot of teasing from the brunette.

 

 

** Dreamland: **

Shizuru found herself in a dark place. It looked like a big cave. The end of this dark cave was illuminated. Maybe there were people. Even if she was in this strange area, she wasn’t afraid at all. This time she knew that it was a dream, showing the long lost past. And she was curious, if this dream would show her more of Natsuki’s past.

 

She wanted to know the gargoyle. She didn’t know exactly why, but after the first impression she felt save around Natsuki and her instincts told her, that Natsuki needed someone by her side very urgently. She could feel the silent scream for help and support.

 

Sometimes, when she looked at Natsuki, she got to see her in a moment, where her features were soft and unguarded, but this lasted only for seconds. If she hadn’t looked so closely, she would have definitely missed these rare moments.

 

So she moved fearless forward. What ever it was awaiting her there, she was sure that it was a short look into Natsuki’s past.

 

She didn’t imagine that this dream would become the pain fullest one she ever had dreamt in her life.

 

Shizuru stopped a few meters before she reached the two figures. She didn’t stop because she was afraid, she stopped because of the scene that was showing before her eyes.

 

There was Natsuki, kneeling in her human form. She was covered in blood, obviously her own. She breathed heavily and her whole body trembled.

 

_Natsuki. . ._

 

She wished this wasn’t only a dream and that she had been there to protect Natsuki. Her heart cried in pain, because she wasn’t able to help. She could only watch the woman’s suffering.

 

“You. . .you. . .*pant* really think, that *pant* that this will stop *pant* me?” Natsuki asked. Unable to stop the heavy breathing she voiced the words she needed to get out.

 

“Of course. What will you do? You are nothing more than a mere human woman now. You can do absolutely nothing to stop me.” *evil laugh*

 

“WHY?! Why did you. . .why did you kill them?” Natsuki looked down, but Shizuru could clearly see the unbearable pain reflecting from Natsuki’s eyes.

 

“You really ask me why? Tch. ..you are just as stupid as the rest of your species. Luckily I won’t ever have to deal with them again. But. . .to answer you question. I did it, because someone offered me power and gold. How could I refuse such an offer?” The man grinned and looked at the defeated woman kneeling in front of him.

 

“You were our friend and you betrayed us because of THAT?!” Her spirits rising, she slowly lifted her body and stood on trembling feet. Her energy was back, but how long would she be able to act tough? Her wounds were deep and her breathing only got faster with each passing minute.

 

“Tch. . .you’ll never understand me. I only used you and all the others for my own goals. And now was the time where I didn’t need you anymore.”

 

Natsuki clenched her fists. This was the last rest of energy she had, before her knees buckled and she fell down on the ground once again.

 

Shizuru on the other hand moved forward to catch the falling woman, but her hands glided through Natsuki’s body like a ghost would walk through a wall.

 

She couldn’t stop Natsuki’s body from hitting the hard ground and to cause her unbearable pain, because of her still bleeding wounds.

 

“Just look at yourself. You are not even able to stand. I think I like you better that way. In pain and helpless.”

 

“YOU. . .!”

 

“Playtime is over my dear Natsuki. Let’s get serious.”

 

He smirked evilly before he pointed a finger at Natsuki casting a new spell. This time he wanted to kill her.

 

Even if she wanted to, Natsuki was unable to move a muscle.

 

Shizuru on the other hand wanted to scream, wanted to beg him to stop this, but it all happened years ago and she could do absolutely nothing. Her only option was to watch and suffer like Natsuki did.

 

But before she saw the end of this fight, the scene suddenly changed and she found herself surrounded by darkness.

 

The man and Natsuki were not there anymore.

 

_Where am I now?_

 

 

 

Her question was left unanswered as she heard a loud scream echoing through the darkness.

 

This brought her back into reality. She opened her eyes only to see a very shocked and wide-eyed Natsuki standing next to her bed.

 

Shizuru was confused for a short moment until she realized what time it was and then looked at Natsuki’s appearance. She was human albeit it was dark outside. They obviously slept the whole day.

 

Wine-red met confused forest-green eyes. They were both equally speechless. None of them knew what had happened during their sleep, but Shizuru wasn’t in any position to complain, because she secretly liked Natsuki better in her human form.

 

 

 

 

That’s it. . .

 

Did you like it? Please let me know and write a review J

Thanks. . .


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys, I promised to update my next chapter in April, but I just couldn't wait that long ^^**

**So here it is . . .**

**But don't expect the next update to be this fast. . .**

There may be a few (or a lot^^) mistakes. Just ignore them or better, tell me where they are :)

**Have fun reading this chapter!**

 

Before you start reading, here are some information about my other stories:

**Watch over me: Epilogue - - -Definitely (but I don't know when^^)**

**Healing: Put on hold**

**Please mend my heart: Put on hold**

 

** Chapter 7: **

Natsuki stood in the middle of Shizuru's bedroom, her eyes were wide and she held a look of confusion. What had happened? Why was she still human and not a gargoyle like she should have been by now. This was a total mess. She wanted to be a complete gargoyle and not change into a disgusting human.

She looked up only to meet confused wine-red eyes. Shizuru of course wouldn't have an answer to this, because she didn't even know the reason why Natsuki was here. But what should she do now? She didn't want to be a human. She wanted for her body to change back. Better now than later.

"Natsuki. . .?"

Shizuru's question was obvious. She also wanted to know what had happened but Natsuki doubted that she wanted to know the answer as badly as herself.

"I. . .I. . ." No words were forthcoming. She tried once more to speak albeit her confused state.

"I don't know what happened. I opened my eyes and after a few seconds I realized the form I was in." She sighed deeply. This had to be a nightmare. She pleaded silently, that it was only a dream, because she didn't have any idea how to change back. This was the worst night ever.

"Mh . . . did you do something before you fell asleep? Maybe that is the reason why you didn't transform."

"No, I just laid down and then I fell asleep. Nothing special."

Natsuki's mind was on overload. All her thoughts circled around only one topic: How to change back.

There was one possibility how this could have happened. Shizuru had held her sleeve in a tight grip after she had fallen asleep. Maybe that was the reason for Natsuki's mess. All night they had stayed in close contact and maybe Shizuru's powers had been activated. She thought about this possibility and her brain told her, that everything was Shizuru's fault.

Shizuru may not know her power yet, but it is there and she unconsciously used it to transform Natsuki into a human. It was crystal clear now. She was still afraid of Natsuki's gargoyle form, so she decided to change that.

Natsuki's temper was rising. She looked once again into Shizuru's eyes, but this time with uncontrolled anger. This on the other hand shocked Shizuru. She didn't know why Natsuki now looked at her like she was the devil himself. She wouldn't say it out loud, but that look scared her. Natsuki's eyes were burning.

"Natsu. . ."

"SHUT UP!"

This sudden outburst shocked Shizuru even more. She would have never imagined Natsuki to shout at her like that.

She observed the enraged blunette, who moved from left to right in the bedroom. She wanted to say something, but was too afraid, because she didn't know how Natsuki would react. Was she able to harm Shizuru in any way? But she was so friendly and almost gentle all the time. What got her in this bad mood?

Natsuki on the other hand wasn't able to think rational. So she just did the first thing coming to mind. She went in front of the brunette and grabbed her shoulders. Shizuru winced a little bit, because Natsuki's grip hurt.

She felt the grip tighten, but didn't comment on it. She patiently waited for Natsuki to say something.

"YOU. . . !" Natsuki was so furious she needed to breathe in deeply to control her emotions for a short moment to form coherent sentences.

"You did this to me! Why? WHY Shizuru!?!"

Shizuru looked into Natsuki's eyes. She didn't have an answer, because she didn't do anything that could have resulted in such a conclusion.

"Natsuki. . .please. . .How could. . ." But she wasn't able to say anything more to the blunette, because she was slapped hard across the face. After this she could taste her own blood. Natsuki had hit her so hard, that she saw stars forming before her eyes.

"I absolutely don't want to hear your lies. Change me back, right now, or else you'll regret ever meeting me!"

Shizuru tried to reason once again albeit the unbearable pain in her left cheek.

"Natsuki, tell me how? I was asleep the whole time. And I don't have magic powers . . . I'm a mere human . . . I. . ."

"NO, you are not a human like all the others. You are something special. All your ancestors possessed magical powers and you own them as well, even if you didn't know about them up until now."

Shizuru was even more confused by this. Why did Natsuki know so much about her? She needed to hear an answer.

"Why do you know me so well?"

It didn't matter anymore, that she told Shizuru the truth. She didn't want to stay here, so she had no reason to be friendly with her.

"I searched for you for over 100 years. You can't see it, but a red light surrounds your whole body. This is a sign for great magical powers. My only goal was to find you and to get you to transform me into a complete gargoyle. If I had known, that something like this could happen, I would have forced you right away!"

This statement hurt like thousand knifes piercing through Shizuru's heart. She thought that Natsuki liked her company and that they had become some kind of friends, but Natsuki just shattered all her dreams.

She was alone and this time the pain was too great to bear.

Tears trailed down her cheeks and she silently pleaded for Natsuki to believe her that she wasn't responsible for all that.

But her message didn't get through. She just got a disgusted look from Natsuki that crashed her once and for all. She lowered her head and let her emotions run free. Never in her life had someone hurt her quite like this.

"Shizuru, stop with your fake crying. I don't believe you! So stop acting!" She reached for Shizuru's shoulder to shake her, but Shizuru abruptly stood up and without another glance into Natsuki's direction she ran away.

The last thing Natsuki saw was Shizuru vanishing through the front door.

Her only chance to change back just ran out of the door. If she wanted or not didn't matter, she had to follow her. She needed her. So she ran after Shizuru, but as she stepped out of the door, there was no sign of Shizuru. The whole street was dark and empty.

_Ok Natsuki, think. Where would she go?_

But unfortunately Natsuki had no idea which direction she should choose. So she just took the right way and hoped that she would find the brunette along the way.

After five minutes of running she heard loud voices and someone crying.

She looked around the corner and saw two men standing next to Shizuru. One man held her wrist, so she couldn't escape and the other one held a knife in his right hand to threaten the poor woman.

Natsuki saw Shizuru's tear-stained face and the panic showing in those wine-red orbs.

Right now she hated herself for putting Shizuru in such a situation, but her temper was uncontrollable if it got loose.

"Please release me."

Natsuki was brought back into reality as she heard Shizuru's weak request.

"Why should we little lady? First we want to have fun with you." They looked at each other and Shizuru knew what this look meant. And there was nobody who could help her.

_Natsuki. . ._

"Let her go. NOW!"

"Natsuki. . ." Shizuru whispered silently.

"Oh, another beautiful lady to play with." One of the men smirked and approached the blunette.

"Just try it asshole!"

"You bet."

Just as he wanted to grab Natsuki, she punched him hard in the stomach and then kicked his chin with her knee. There was loud crack and after that everything went silent.

"You bitch!"

The other wanted to slice her with the knife, but Natsuki avoided the attack and kicked him hard between his legs.

He went unconscious just like his friend.

"I told you not to mess with me!"

Satisfied with her work, she looked back at the crying woman she just saved.

"Shizuru. . ."

"Stop. . .please. . .just go. ..and leave me alone. . ." She chocked on the words, unable to look into the forest-green eyes in front of her.

"Shizuru. . ."

Natsuki started once again, but the only response she got was Shizuru shacking her head and distancing herself further.

Natsuki regretted all the things she did earlier, especially that she had slapped Shizuru hard across the face. That wasn't her intention, it just came naturally. Now all she wanted was to apologize and go back to the apartment, but there was one problem: Shizuru. It seemed that she didn't want to go back and Natsuki understood quite well the reason why.

But they couldn't stay all night here. First Shizuru was half naked and would freeze to death and second it would probably start raining any minute.

"Shizuru, I'm so sorry. I overreacted and. . . "With every word she moved a little bit closer to the still crying woman.

"Gomen. . ."

She stood now right in front of Shizuru and reached out to her. Shizuru saw the hand coming and thought she would be slapped again, so she jumped back and shouted.

"NO!"

A blinding red light illuminated the place and Natsuki was shoved backwards. The next thing she saw was a giant purple snake-like monster appearing in front of Shizuru.

She knew that this wasn't a good sign. In her current state she would definitely loose against such a beast. She could beat up normal humans, but not this.

She looked past the huge snake and saw that Shizuru was laying on the ground unconscious. This was very bad. Natsuki knew that the magician had to be awake to control his summoned beast, but Shizuru couldn't do much in her current state.

And just as she thought it couldn't get any worse, the monster attacked, but not her, instead it went right for Shizuru.

It didn't matter to this beast who it killed. If its master wasn't there, it would go wild and kill everything in reach, even its helpless master.

_Shit. This is just my lucky day. . ._

Without thinking twice Natsuki ran to Shizuru, grabbed her and jumped with her out of reach. Unfortunately she wasn't fast enough and the beast got her right leg. Now she was in great danger.

In her human form she was as helpless as Shizuru against such an enemy.

But she had to fight, otherwise the monster would kill Shizuru next and this was something that Natsuki wanted to prevent.

With all her might she tried to free herself, but with no success. Her current body didn't possess the power she needed to save them.

_Shizuru. . .I just can't save you . . .gomen. . ._

Then out of nowhere a new red light illuminated the place. She looked in the direction where it came from.

She was still unconscious, but even in her current state she tried to help Natsuki.

_Thank you._

Within seconds the monster disappeared and she landed on the ground. The only injury was her bleeding leg, but it was a small price to pay. If Shizuru hadn't stopped her summoned beast she would have faced death for sure.

She slowly walked to Shizuru and with some effort she scooped her up and carried her bridal-style back into her apartment. Summoning such a giant magical beast was very exhausting and Shizuru was still weak, so it wasn't very surprising that she fell unconscious right after summoning.

Natsuki placed the weak woman carefully on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Then she grabbed a pen and paper and wrote a small note for Shizuru.

_Shizuru,_

_I'm really extremely sorry about what I did. I hope that you can forgive me, even if my actions were unforgivable in my eyes._

_Uhm. . . I carried you back home and. . .if you need anything I'm waiting in the living room._

_I can understand if you never want to see me again._

_But if you want, I'll tell you the truth, absolutely everything you want to know._

_Natsuki_

After writing the letter, she placed it on Shizuru's night stand and left the room silently. She was exhausted, so she just covered her wound with a towel and laid down on the soft couch in the living room, hoping that the next day would be better.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shizuru's POV:

A few hours later, it was still night, Shizuru awoke with a big headache. She tried to remember what happened, but her train of thought was interrupted as she saw a small piece of paper laying on her night stand.

_Natsuki. . .?_

Carefully she picked the note up and read it. Indeed it was a note from Natsuki.

After reading, that she was still there, Shizuru wasn't sure if she should be happy or afraid about this fact.

So she took a moment and underwent all the things that had happened hours ago. The harsh words from Natsuki and the allegation. But before all the other things she remembered the slap across her face. She never thought that Natsuki would hurt her in any way. Now she knew how wrong she had been.

One moment she remembered very clearly. It was the moment, where those two guys tried to rape her and Natsuki came to rescue her. Instead of being thankful, she backed away, afraid that Natsuki's uncontrolled anger would resurface and she would get hurt in the process once again.

But what happened after all that, she was not sure. She remembered a blinding red light and then . . . nothing. Her whole world went black.

_I think I have to talk to her to fill in the blankets . . . sigh . . ._

She was afraid, of course because her trust in Natsuki was almost completely gone. The person she thought she knew didn't exist in the first place.

Unfortunately her curiosity won over her fright, so she stood up and walked bravely to her still closed bedroom door. Breathing in deeply she opened the door and walked through.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normal POV:

The whole room was dark, not the slightest light illuminated it. But Shizuru could clearly see the figure sleeping on her couch. She knew that Natsuki had to be fast asleep because otherwise she would have said something or at least sat up and looked away.

She moved carefully closer. At all times aware, that the sleeping woman could awake at any moment.

The blunette looked so peaceful in her sleep. It was a shame, that she always looked so angry when awake.

_Sigh. . .I should probably wake her up. I want to get this over with as fast as possible._

With this thought in mind, she slowly reached out and shook Natsuki slightly to wake her up. There was no response, so she tried it once again.

This time there was a small movement and she heard the woman groaning.

"Natsuki. . .?"

Slowly she opened her eyes and green eyes looked at slightly fearful red ones. Immediately Natsuki felt guilty, because she had placed that fear there.

"Shizuru. . . " It was a silent whisper, but Shizuru heard it nonetheless and her body reacted automatically. She moved away a little bit and noticed the sad look appearing on Natsuki's face. She didn't say a thing, because she just couldn't.

Natsuki on the other hand tried once again. She sat up and beckoned Shizuru to sit next to her. Hesitantly she obliged, but sat down on the other side of the couch.

Natsuki sighed deeply, but it was her fault after all. She couldn't blame Shizuru for her actions.

"We need to talk." This was Natsuki's first real sentence and all the time she gazed deeply into Shizuru's eyes. Trying to read her emotions, but she covered them up quite well.

"I read your note and . . ." Shizuru didn't know how to end her sentence or what she wanted to tell Natsuki actually. So she just hoped that Natsuki would understand her silent questions.

Natsuki looked down and sighed. This was a rather delicate topic for her and up until now she hadn't talked to anyone about it.

"Ok, I think its best, if you tell me what you want to know. Just ask anything that's coming into mind."

Shizuru nodded and thought about some questions. She wanted to start, but another more important question appeared. Why did Natsuki act so hostile towards her? She wanted to know what changed the gentle woman like this.

"Why did you slap me?"

Natsuki was speechless. She knew that the answer to this question was inevitable but she had hoped, that Shizuru would ask it later.

"Sigh. ..I couldn't think clearly at that moment. I'm so sorry." Natsuki looked into red-wine eyes and reached out to touch Shizuru's cheek softly, but Shizuru stiffened, so that Natsuki stopped her advance and let her hand fall down.

"Gomen. . ."

Once again she couldn't face the hurt brunette.

"I think I should tell you the whole story, but. . .it's just too painful. You know my past was not the brightest moment in my life."

She half-heartedly smiled at Shizuru.

_Ok Natsuki, this is probably your last chance to get on Shizuru's good side. Don't say something stupid._

Natsuki opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted because of the loud knock at the front door.

One part of her was thankful for the interruption, the other one wanted to scream at whoever showed up this late.

Shizuru gracefully walked to the front door and opened it. A very panicky looking Mikoto stood on her doorstep and worse, she was crying.

"Mikoto-chan, why are you here and where's. . .."

Before she could even finish her sentence Mikoto grabbed her in a bear hug. She cried into Shizuru's shoulder, mumbling something about Mai, Takeda and kidnapping.

She got a bad feeling. If this was what she thought it was, then Shizuru was to blame for the situation. This was obviously Takeda's way of revenge.

She closed the door and sat with Mikoto down on the couch. Natsuki choose to sit on a nearby chair. She didn't want to disturb them.

"Mikoto-chan, tell me what happened."

Mikoto slowly lifted her head and looked with teary eyes into Shizuru's.

"Takeda. . .he. . .he kidnapped Mai and. . . and he left a letter. . ." Mikoto handed Shizuru a piece of paper.

Letting go of Mikoto she took the letter and started reading.

_My dear Shizuru,_

_you are just unreachable for me, so I decided to get you with a little trick. I want you to come tomorrow to this address alone._

_Baker Street 50 / 8 pm_

_If there's anyone else, I will kill your dear friend. This time there's no escape for you!_

_I'll see you soon._

_Takeda_

What should she do now? Risk Mai's life and ask the chief? No, definitely not. Her decision was to go alone and to ensure Mai's safety. Even if it meant her certain death.

"Don't worry Mikoto-chan. I'll save Mai. So please stop crying."

Mikoto only nodded. She was exhausted from all the crying and Shizuru told her to sleep a little bit. With Mikoto out of reach she heavily sighed.

She had one day to plan the rescue. But one thing was for sure. This time all of Takeda's men would be there to keep her imprisoned.

"You are going, right?"

Shizuru had forgotten about Natsuki for a few minutes, because she had been so worried about Mikoto.

"Yes, she's my friend. I would risk my life for her." She gazed deeply into Natsuki's eyes. Her own ones burning with a passion Natsuki had never seen before.

"Then I will accompany you."

"No, I can handle that myself."

"Yeah, you proofed that the last time." She looked disapprovingly at Shizuru.

"It's not your place to tell me that."

"Don't you understand Shizuru? I'm worried."

This was the last straw for Shizuru. Now was her turn to get angry at Natsuki.

"YOU are worried? Why? Because your only chance to be a complete gargoyle is risking her life. And if I die you have to stay human? Is that your reason why?!"

Natsuki was taken aback by Shizuru's hard words.

"No. . ." She looked into the angry red orbs. She felt like Shizuru tried to burn her alive, but she summoned all her courage and told her the real reason.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried because I like you. You know, you are my first friend in years and I don't want to loose you."

Shizuru wanted so badly to believe her, but her mind told her otherwise.

"Sigh, Natsuki, tell your stories someone who believes you. You can't fool me again. I now know your real reasons for staying by my side."

She then stood up and went into the kitchen to make a delicious cup of green tea. She needed all her energy for this mission and green tea was her source of power.

Natsuki on the other hand was stunned. Shizuru didn't believe her one bit. She acted not like the friendly woman she met. She acted cold and distant. The blunette didn't like the new Shizuru one bit, but she knew that she was responsible for this behavior.

She would have probably told Shizuru the same, if she had been in her place.

But even if she wasn't a gargoyle anymore, she would accompany Shizuru and would be hidden in the shadows if necessary. If Shizuru needed her, she would definitely save her. She wanted to proof her wrong. She wanted that Shizuru saw how sorry she was because she acted like a complete ass.

She would take down hundreds of men and risk her own life, if it meant for Shizuru to live.

She felt stupid. If she hadn't hated all the humans for so long, she could have had friends throughout the years. Only her stubbornness was responsible for her loneliness and she wanted to change that fact as fast as possible.

Now, that she got one real friend, she wanted to be able to save her. Suddenly it wasn't so important to become a gargoyle anymore.

She had lived in darkness all these past years and meeting Shizuru was like finding her light.

_Shizuru, I'm so stupid. I wish I had met you earlier._

 

 

That was chapter 7!

Please leave a review :)

Thanks a lot.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Hi guys, here's finally the next chapter of Gargoyle Hime. I tried to update it sooner, but yeah. . .I was a little bit busy with my new job. . .

 

Disclaimer: Mai Hime? No, not mine. . .

 

Chapter 8:

The night was over very quickly. Neither Natsuki nor Shizuru had talked one word after their last discussion. Natsuki slept once again on the couch and Shizuru had joined Mikoto in her bedroom. But they both had one thing in common. The whole night they thought about each other. One of them wanted to trust the other once more, but was unsure if that would be the right choice and the other one thought of a way to proof herself trustworthy.

 

The next morning Natsuki was the first one to wake up. She quickly went to the kitchen to tend to her wound. The bleeding had stopped, but it still hurt like hell. But her pride forbid her to ask for help and she was sure, that Shizuru wouldn't help her right now either.

So Natsuki said down on one of the chairs and first cleaned the wound. But something wasn't right. It still hurt, yes, but it looked somehow different like the wounds Natsuki had had before. She saw it just yet, but inside her wound was a green substance. She tried to get something out and then it hit her like thousand rocks falling down on her head.

Poison. . .

Of course, the beast, that was summoned by Shizuru, was a giant snake and they were mostly poisonous.

_Shit. . ._

That was just the right moment to get poisoned. How should she help Shizuru, if she was too weak to even follow her? But Natsuki decided to think about this later. Right now she felt okay. The pain wasn't that bad and hopefully it would stay that way a little while longer. Just long enough, so that she could save Shizuru, if necessary.

 

Meanwhile Shizuru walked into the bathroom to start her day with a long refreshing shower, maybe the last one she would ever take. As she stood there under the hot water her thoughts circled around one person, no, not Takeda, it was Natsuki. Their "relationship" now was a little bit like walking on thin ice. Shizuru still had her doubts about Natsuki's true intentions, but on the other hand she wanted so desperately to believe in her.

_Maybe I'm just thinking too much. Now is not the right time anyways. I have to think of a plan to save Mai. If I survive this rescue mission, then I can think about Natsuki._

With new energy she stepped out of the shower and started dressing. Ready for everything, that would happen today. At least she thought she was ready, but in reality she couldn't have foreseen the next few hours.

 

As Shizuru walked into the living room, Natsuki was there, sitting on the couch. Obviously deep in thought, because she didn't say a thing, until Shizuru spoke.

„Ara, good morning Natsuki." Shizuru's tone of voice was neutral and it bugged Natsuki to no end, to hear her say her name like that.

"Morning. . ."

With no more to say Shizuru wanted to walk into the kitchen, but Natsuki stopped her.

"Shizuru. . .uhm. . .?"

"Yes?"

Shizuru looked back at Natsuki, waiting for the blunette to ask whatever it was.

"You are still going right?"

Natsuki looked at these stunningly beautiful orbs and almost pleaded for her to stay.

"Yes, of course, or do you expect me to stay here and let one of my best friends die?"

"But if you go, YOU'll be the one dying! I. . ."

"Stop it! I know the sole reason, why you are trying to convince me to stay, so. . .just stop. . ." Shizuru looked away, afraid that Natsuki would see her sad look and the tears shining in her eyes.

"Then let me go with you. I can pro. . . ."

"No!"

Natsuki was speechless. Shizuru let no doubt, that she really didn't want Natsuki by her side, even if it meant her safety.

"As you wish."

The blunette sighed and looked down at the ground, hearing Shizuru walk away into the kitchen.

_It seems, that I have to follow her as a shadow. There's no other choice._

Then she winced slightly, because the pain of her wound had increased.

_Shit, time is definitely not on my side today._

The poison was progressing rather fast.

 

In the kitchen Shizuru leaned her back at the counter and sighed deeply. Maybe she should have said yes to Natsuki's proposal, but her pride was just so damn big, that she declined the offer, even if she was in desperate need of support.

_Natsuki. . ._

Shaking her head to get rid of these annoying thoughts, she prepared some tea to clean her head. She had a long day in front of her and needed to be as fit as possible. She would meet with Takeda and try to convince him to exchange her and Mai, then Mai could flee and she. . .yeah. . .she would die, after Takeda's torture, which would come definitely, because she knew, that she was hated by him very much.

Sighing she took her cup and went back into the living room, where she was faced with a very pale looking Natsuki.

"Natsuki?" She couldn't contain the concern, that was flowing in this one word.

Natsuki weakly lifted her head and smiled a warm smile at Shizuru, before collapsing on the couch.

"NATSUKI!"

Shizuru ran to her side and saw the heavily breathing woman lying there on the couch, wincing in pain. Sweat was glistening on her forehead and her eyes were shut tightly.

"Natsuki? What is wrong. . ."

The blunette opened one eye and looked at the concerned woman next to her.

"N-nothing. . .I. ..ungh. . .I. . . " She couldn't end her sentence, because a huge wave of pain enveloped her whole body.

Shizuru put a hand on Natsuki's forehead and felt the temperature rising quickly. What was wrong with Natsuki? A few minutes ago she was perfectly fine.

"Natsuki, please tell me what's wrong." Shizuru didn't know what to do, because she didn't know what had happened to Natsuki, to cause her such pain.

Then all of a sudden the pain subsided and Natsuki laid completely unmoving on the couch, still heavily breathing. Shizuru sat beside her and waited, because she couldn't do anything else.

Slowly opening her eyes, Natsuki stared at Shizuru, her breathing slowing down and she was able to call Shizuru's name weakly.

"Shizuru. . ."

Shizuru placed a hand on Natsuki's still hot cheek and caressed it softly. Forgetting, that she was still angry at the blunette.

"You okay?"

"Yes, just a little bit out of breath." Natsuki tried to smile to ease Shizuru's worries.

"What was that? Why were you suddenly . .."

"Nothing." Natsuki looked away. She didn't intend to tell Shizuru, that it was because of her summoned beast and the poison, that she suffered this pain. She wanted, that Shizuru stayed focused on the "mission" she had to full fill today.

Natsuki sat up, ignoring Shizuru's worried face. She shook her head a few times to get rid of the dizziness. Her body still felt weak, because of these few minutes full of pain.

"Are you sure everything's fine? You look really pale."

"Yeah yeah, don't worry, I'll be my old self in a few seconds."

She breathed in deeply to calm her racing heart and then faced Shizuru as if nothing had happened.

Shizuru was not convinced by Natsuki act, but she knew how stubborn the gargoyle could be, so she let the topic slide. If Natsuki wanted to be in pain, who was she to forbid her that.

"Sigh. . .I'll go check on Mikoto. Then I should start thinking about a plan for today."

Shizuru walked away, but was stopped as Natsuki said her name gently.

"Shizuru. . ."

_Don't give in Shizuru. She is just going to fool you again._

"Don't start. You know my opinion on this matter and that won't change. I am going alone and you can't stop me."

She was out of sight in seconds, not seeing the hurt and saddened look in those green orbs.

_Shizuru. . ._

 

The rest of the day went by really quickly. Everyone of them stayed alone, until it was time for Shizuru to leave.

All the time she was alone in her room to come up with a plan. Natsuki knew that this would be a kamikaze plan, because Shizuru wanted to save her friend first. Her own safety was not her highest priority and that worried the blunette to no end. Not because she needed Shizuru and her magic powers, no she was worried, because she started to trust the brunette and to have feelings for her. But because of her stubbornness she ruined almost everything.

The door to Shizuru's room suddenly opened and startled Natsuki a little bit. She looked up from her spot to see Shizuru's serious face. She wasn't even looking at Natsuki. The blunette knew better, than to ask Shizuru once again. Knowing the answer, which would come and she would follow her even without permission, so it didn't matter, if they talked now or not.

"I'm going."

That was Shizuru's last sentence, before she left the house, leaving a speechless Natsuki behind.

_What was that just now? Did I miss something?_

Natsuki was still baffled, but recovered quickly, so that she wouldn't loose sight of Shizuru.

Unfortunately she was human and she couldn't follow Shizuru, like she would have in her gargoyle form, so she choose option number two and called a cab. Driving to the address, that she remembered from Takeda's letter.

 

10 minutes later Natsuki was in the vicinity of the place Takeda wanted to meet with Shizuru, but something was odd. She expected a house or something like that, but not a park in the middle of the city. This was very bad. His men could hide everywhere and it would be nearly impossible to find them.

Deciding to think about that later she cautiously walked into the park. Shortly after she heard a few voices, one male and the other was . . .Shizuru. She was too late. Shizuru was already in danger.

Natsuki hid in the shadows and tiptoed into the direction of their voices.

_Please be alright._

"Here I am Takeda, so let Mai go."

"Tsk tsk. . . Shizuru, you really thought it would be that easy? Sorry to disappoint you, but I changed my mind. I will take both of you and you can enjoy watching her die. Then I'll have a little bit fun with you and yeah, if you get boring, I'll just kill you. That was my plan."

Shizuru didn't say a thing. She thought, that he wouldn't let them leave so easily. Unfortunately there was no back up. She was all alone and because she didn't know where his men hid or where Mai was, she couldn't risk fighting him.

"First time I see the mighty Fujino Shizuru speechless. I should have brought my digicam." he laughed evilly.

 

Meanwhile Natsuki had decided, that Shizuru was save for the moment and searched for the woman they had captured. She was hidden in the dark, between a few trees, only guarded by two men.

_Just two of them? That's going to be easy._

Without a second thought Natsuki jumped out of the darkness and knocked the first one out cold within seconds, because she had surprised him. The second one choose just this moment to throw his knife at Natsuki, missing her slightly. She spun around and kicked him right in the face. He was unconscious, before he even hit the ground.

_That's all they got? Piece of cake._

Then she faced the woman and used the knife to cut the ropes.

"Thank you, but who are you?"

"My name's Natsuki. I'm a friend of Shizuru."

"Where is she?" Mai was starting to panic.

"Don't worry. I'll save her. Just stay here, until everything's over."

After that Natsuki once again vanished into the darkness, not seeing one man calling his boss with his mobile phone and then falling unconscious again.

 

Before Shizuru could answer, his mobile-phone rang.

"What do you want? WHAT? HOW? Shit. . ."

He stared menacingly at Shizuru.

"YOU!"

Takeda pointed his gun at Shizuru's head and without a second thought he pushed the trigger.

BANG

There wasn't enough time to evade the bullet. Shizuru saw her end coming and closed her eyes, but the bullet never hit her. She opened them cautiously, only to see a woman standing in front of her, shielding her from everything.

"Natsuki. . . "

Shizuru was shocked. There stood Natsuki in front of her. What was she doing here?

Natsuki had protected Shizuru and at the same time she had thrown a sharp knife right into Takeda's head. He was dead immediately.

"Why. . .?"

Shizuru wanted to ask, just as Natsuki turned around to face her.

"I'm sorry. . ."

That was her last sentence, before she collapsed in front of Shizuru, who caught her just in time, before she could hit the hard ground.

"NATSUKI. . . ."

"Shizuru, there you are. . .Oh my god, what happened?"

"Mai? How come you are free?"

"Uhm, she saved me and told me to hid, until everything is over. I heard a gunshot and thought. . ."

"I'm fine, but Natsuki. . ."

The brunette looked down to see a red mark on Natsuki upper right body, getting bigger with each passing second.

Mai was the first to recover and said:

"I'll call the ambulance. Don't worry. She's going to be fine."

 

The rest of the day went by quickly. The ambulance brought Natsuki into the hospital and tended to her wounds. Shizuru never left her side the whole time, while Mai reported everything to Yukino.

The next few days were really critical for Natsuki, because her wound was serious. A little bit to the left and it would have hit a very critical point, that would have killed Natsuki immediately. Shizuru wanted to cry after she got this information, but stayed strong for the sake of Natsuki. Then the doctor told her about Natsuki's other wound, which slowed down the healing process very much. He told her, that this wound was poisoned and that they didn't have a potion. This poison was something new and they didn't know, if it would kill the woman or not.

"But you must help her!"

Shizuru wanted to save Natsuki's life very badly.

"We try our best Fujino-san, but please understand, that we can't heal something, when we don't know what the cause was. So please calm down."

"Gomenasai, you're right. Please do your best."

"Don't worry, we'll do everything in our might."

"Thank you."

She left the office and went back to Natsuki's room.

_Natsuki. . ._

She saw the peacefully sleeping woman and sat beside her. Maybe she would wake up any minute. But somehow Shizuru doubted, that this was possible. Not after what the doctor had told her.

_Why did she do something like this? Because she tried to protect me. . .she is going to. . ._

Silent tears traveled down her cheeks. She couldn't stop them, even if she wanted to. She laid her head down on the bed and silent sobs were heard in the room.

Unknown to Shizuru something absolutely unexpected happened.

Natsuki slowly opened her eyes and searched for the person, that was crying.

_Shizuru. . .why. . .where am I?_

The soft movement, as Natsuki tried to find out where she was, startled Shizuru and she looked up to see tired emerald orbs.

"Natsuki."

Shizuru practically pounced on the wounded woman out of happiness.

"Shi-Shizuru. . .ungh. . ."

"Oh, kani na, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay, but where am I?"

"In the hospital. You were shot by Takeda."

"Ah yes, I remember that."

"Why did you do that? He could have killed you." Shizuru looked very angry right at the moment.

"Your safety was everything I could think of." Natsuki answered honestly. She remembered the moment clearly. Takeda had aimed his gun at Shizuru and her body reacted immediately. Her only thought was to save Shizuru, nothing more. Her own life had been of less importance.

Shizuru was taken aback by this honest answer. She had expected everything, but definitely not this. She expected Natsuki to say something like: "I need your powers or you can't die, until you have changed me back." This was a really big surprise.

"Ara. . ." That was all Shizuru could voice at the moment, still too surprised to say anything else.

_Don't fall for it Shizuru. She's just going to fool you again. . .But her eyes. They look at me so honestly. Maybe this time I can trust her._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud intake of breath.

She looked at Natsuki, who clutched her chest in pain.

"Natsuki? What is wrong? I. . .I call the doctor. . .wait. . ."

"No, don't please. . .ungh. . ."

"But Natsuki. . ."

"Trust me. This is absolutely nothing I want the doctors to see."

After that she tried her best to keep quiet. She knew, that this pain was because of her starting transformation and nothing else.

A few minutes later everything was okay. Even her poisoned wound was gone. She was back to normal. Fortunately as a gargoyle her healing ability was very high, so that she could heal all her injuries within seconds. Thank goodness, that her body choose just this moment to change back.

"Natsuki?"

Shizuru was suddenly somewhat afraid of the creature in front of her, even if she had seen Natsuki in her original form several times.

"I' fine now. Don't worry."

She sat up and then stood in front of Shizuru. Minutes ago, she couldn't even lift a finger, but now her whole body felt just wonderful.

_Sigh, finally back._

Suddenly Natsuki looked at the door, hearing footsteps coming closer. She couldn't face the doctors in this form. She needed to get away as fast as possible.

"Natsuki, what. . .?"

Natsuki looked at Shizuru, grabbed her hand and went to the window, opening it.

"You need to trust me now, Shizuru. . .please."

Without waiting for a reply she scooped Shizuru up bridal-style and jumped out of the window.

The brunette held onto the gargoyle for dear life, but knew on the other hand, that Natsuki would never ever let her fall.

 

It's done. . .

I'm so exhausted right now. . .*faints in front of her laptop*

Please R&R

Thanks a lot :)

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

Yeah, finally a new chapter :) It's about time I think ^^

Enjoy the new chapter and please write a few reviews. . .or not? *puppy eyes*

I wanted to update this chapter long ago, but then I found a lot of things I wanted to change while reading so. . .yeah it took some time to look it over. . .

 

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime belongs to . . .Sunrise. . .**

 

**Chapter 9:**

Natsuki held Shizuru tightly to her body, to prevent her from falling down.

Meanwhile Shizuru was in her own world. She stared down at the small city lights, totally stunned, that the world could look so peaceful and gorgeous.

_It's really amazing and Natsuki is able to see this whenever she wants to._

They were high enough, so that people wouldn't see them accidentally, but low enough for Shizuru to see all the cars and people rushing through the streets.

Shizuru looked back at Natsuki, who choose just this moment to look at her. The brunette could see Natsuki's cheeks turning red, because she was staring at Shizuru.

"Does Natsuki see something she likes?" Shizuru smirked at the poor gargoyle.

"B-baka. . ."

Then the blunette looked away from Shizuru, obviously to hide her blush.

Shizuru smiled slightly. Liking the cute blush very much.

"Natsuki?"

"Yes?"

"Where are we going? I thought we would just go home, but this is a totally different direction."

Shizuru looked once again around and was sure, that they flew into the opposite direction, because of the landscape slowly changing. Instead of houses and loud cars, she saw a huge forest not far ahead and a few mountains.

"I. . .uhm. . .I just wanted to speak to you. . .alone. . .please. .." Natsuki looked pleadingly into Shizuru's red orbs.

"Okay, but where are you taking me?"

"Don't worry, you'll see soon enough."

Natsuki smiled and Shizuru felt, that she sped up a little bit. In the process Shizuru tightened her hold on the gargoyle.

_I wonder where Natsuki's taking me. I just have to wait a little while longer. ..sigh._

Shizuru was very curious, but didn't ask any more questions. She still trusted Natsuki, even if it wasn't much anymore since this incident.

A few minutes later Natsuki began to sink and finally landed, placing Shizuru gently onto the ground.

The brunette looked at the scenery in front of her. They were at some cliff and there were ruins of an ancient castle. Maybe 2000 years old.

Shizuru turned around and looked at Natsuki questioningly.

"Where are we?"

"Home."

This answer startled Shizuru and she looked back at the castle. Of course, this was the place she had seen in her dreams. She didn't recognize it at first, because in her dreams it was a lively place with lots of people and everything was in place.

Now the big gates were totally destroyed and only also the walls were almost completely gone, so that you could see the whole market place without entering.

She heard Natsuki's voice, but didn't turn around, instead she listened to her husky voice.

"I found it right after I arrived in town. But I never was up this close. My first priority was. . .yeah . . .you know, finding you." Natsuki scratched her cheek sheepishly.

Shizuru now looked back at Natsuki, not really understanding why Natsuki wanted her to know all that.

Natsuki caught this look and said: "You are wondering why I am telling you all of this right?"

A nod was her only answer.

"To say the truth, I don't know either, but I . . ." She stopped mid-sentence, not sure how to go on.

"Natsuki. . ."

Shizuru saw the troubled look in the blunette's eyes and approached her cautiously. She placed a hand softly onto the gargoyles cheek and caressed it gently, until Natsuki looked into her eyes.

"All I want to know is, was everything until now only a lie to get me to transform you into a complete gargoyle? What you said back then was the truth. Am I right?"

Natsuki wanted to look away, but Shizuru's hand prevented her from doing so.

"Yes, I was only interested in your powers. I regret, that I was not honest with you from the beginning, but I . . .sigh. . .I was just so damn stupid back then."

She stared intentionally into these beautiful crimson orbs and continued.

"I didn't want to see the real person behind this facade. You were nice to me, even after you had seen my real form. For the first time in years I wanted to become friends with someone, but on the other hand I'm so scared, that I'll be betrayed once again. All I want to say is. . .I am very sorry."

Natsuki bowed her head in apology, waiting for any response from Shizuru, but there was none. She dared to look at Shizuru and was shocked. The brunette stood there. . .crying.

_Shit, I'm such an idiot. What did I do this time? Shizuru. . ._

"Gomen, I didn't. . . "

"No. . .I . . ."

The next moment Shizuru hugged Natsuki with all her might, crying at the gargoyles strong shoulder.

Natsuki embraced her and held her tight. It felt so good to embrace Shizuru like this, even if it was not the right moment to think that.

"Shizuru?"

Worrying herself to death, she slowly released the brunette to check, if she was alright, but to her surprise Shizuru didn't want to move one bit, instead she just hugged the gargoyle tighter.

_What is wrong with her?_

Natsuki just let her stay like this for a few seconds longer, until she tried once again to look into Shizuru's eyes.

This time the brunette backed away a little bit, but still embracing Natsuki.

She refused to meet the gargoyles eyes, but Natsuki softly tilted her chin up, so that they were face to face.

"Tell me what's wrong."

Taking a deep breath Shizuru decided to tell her what was wrong, easing her worry.

"It. . .it hurts. ..right here." She placed a hand on the place where her heart was beating.

"I don't. . ."

"Seeing Natsuki's sad look and hearing what she's so afraid of. . .it was just too much for me. It hurts to see you suffering like this."

"Baka. . ."

Natsuki once again placed Shizuru's head on her shoulder and let her cry.

Several minutes later she heard the sobbing slowly subside.

"Do you feel better now, Shizuru?"

"Yes, thank you."

They let go of each other slowly and looked back at the castle. Natsuki wore a slight blush, because she still felt Shizuru's body heat. Welcoming this warm feeling.

"Natsuki?"

"Mh?" The gargoyle looked at Shizuru, only to see her worried face.

"Are you sure, you want to go?"

Nodding her head she grabbed Shizuru's hand and together they approached the ruins of the castle.

Natsuki hesitated before entering, but a short squeeze of her hand told her, that she was not alone in this situation and she was thankful therefore.

Shizuru on the other hand was worried, that walking around the castle would be a bad idea, because it only hurt Natsuki more to see what she had lost.

_I wish I could do something for her._

Deep in thought Shizuru didn't see the ruins slowly changing, until the castle was complete once again, like it was hundreds of years ago.

Natsuki was taken aback by this sudden change and she looked at Shizuru to confirm her suspicion. Shizuru had unconsciously used her powers to rebuild the castle.

"Shizuru. . .?"

The brunette didn't respond, instead her whole body trembled and she lost consciousness, falling into Natsuki's arms.

"Shizuru!"

Natsuki scooped the woman up bridal-style and carried her to the nearest bank, placing her gently down.

Taking a look around she stared in disbelief at all the people coming out of their houses. She knew almost all of them, but that was impossible. They should be all long gone.

Then she looked back at the brunette and it all made sense.

_Shizuru didn't rebuild the castle. . .We are in the past. . ._

Natsuki scooped the still sleeping woman up into her arms again and hid in an alley way to prevent the people from seeing them, because her younger self must be here too and she didn't want to change something.

She knew, that she could possibly change the future and save all her friends, but her mother once taught her, that everything happened with a good reason. So she tried her best to avoid any contact with her old friends and family, even if it pained her greatly.

She knew that there was a cave nearby and choose to hide there with Shizuru. No one knew, that this cave even existed. Only her cousin and she herself knew where it was, but she was sure, that they should be save there for the time being.

Fortunately Natsuki knew where a small hole was in the city walls and luckily it was well hidden by the houses standing there, so that nobody would see them. She looked around to see if everything was clear and vanished through the small hole.

Then the gargoyle jumped down the cliff behind the castle and shortly before landing in the ocean she spread her wings and flew around a corner, where the entrance was.

Just in time, because the sun was going to rise any minute and she would turn into a human, unfortunately without wings.

She placed the sleeping woman gently down onto the ground and let her rest.

_I never thought, that Shizuru would be this powerful._

She sat next to Shizuru and watched the sunrise. She felt at ease in this moment.

A few minutes later her body started to transform, the pain enveloping her whole body for a short moment, until it was all gone and she breathed in deeply to calm her racing heart.

_I think we are stuck in here till sunset. . .sigh. . ._

A sudden movement at her left side told her, that the brunette's slumber would be over any minute now.

"Natsuki?"

Natsuki shifted her body, so that she had a better look at Shizuru.

"I'm right here Shizuru."

Slowly crimson eyes opened, looking tiredly back into Natsuki's worried veridian orbs.

"What happened?"

She tried to sit up, but Natsuki halted all her movement by placing a hand on her shoulder, pushing her down again gently.

"Don't, you are still very exhausted."

Shizuru looked around and then back at Natsuki with questioning eyes.

"You used your powers."

"But I can't remember when . . ."

Natsuki unconsciously caressed Shizuru's cheek and explained what had happened.

"One moment we stood in those ruins and the next moment we were standing on the market place. Everything was rebuild. I thought that in the first few minutes, until I saw all the people walking around. We are in the past. I don't know how you did this, but we are almost 2000 years in the past and I didn't want anyone to see me here. Right now I'm only a little child. . ."

Natsuki smiled sadly.

Shizuru placed her own hand on Natsuki's and leaned into the warm touch. Of course the blunette blushed, but didn't comment on this. She liked Shizuru touching her hand, but she would never admit that out loud.

"Natsuki, where are we?"

"Ah. . .sorry, I forgot to mention it. We are in a cave below the castle. For the time being we should be save here. You can rest a little bit longer. You must be still tired."

It was true, that Shizuru was still tired, but on the other hand she was a little bit afraid. Not because of Natsuki, but because she should sleep in a cave. She never liked camping or something like that, so she was a bit uncomfortable.

Natsuki sensing that something was wrong asked the brunette.

"Shizuru? Are you alright?"

A few seconds the brunette thought about lying to the blunette and keep her facade, but she decided fast to tell Natsuki the truth, even if it was somehow embarrassing.

"I'm a little bit afraid. . .I never slept in a cave and it's creepy."

If Shizuru's face hadn't been so serious, Natsuki would have definitely laughed at her. But now she just laid down next to Shizuru.

She asked Shizuru to lift her head a bit, so that she could place her arm under her. Now she had a hopefully nice pillow. The other arm was loosely draped around her waist.

Shizuru was speechless and a slight blush adorned her face. Natsuki was still able to surprise her. Now she didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore.

"Is this okay?"

Shizuru only nodded her head and snuggled closer to Natsuki, missing therefore the deep blush.

A few minutes of silence past and Natsuki thought, that Shizuru was fast asleep, until she asked:

"What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know. But we will find a way to go back, don't worry."

To prove her point she tightened her hold on Shizuru.

"I'm sorry. . ." It was only a small whisper, but Natsuki heard it nonetheless.

"Ssh. . .It's okay. I'm not mad or anything. It wasn't your fault."

"But. . ." Shizuru faced Natsuki to protest, but was stopped as a finger was placed on her lips.

"Don't. . ."

This one word silenced Shizuru completely and she forgot what she wanted to tell Natsuki. She lost herself in those dark jade orbs.

Shizuru didn't know what was going on, but her heart was racing and she was sure, that Natsuki could feel it too. She had never felt something so intense. Her whole body started to warm up.

Without thinking she lowered her head, seeing Natsuki's eyes slightly widen, but meeting no resistance, she placed her lips upon Natsuki's soft ones, closing her eyes in the process.

 

I wanted to write a different end, but the two just ignored me and started kissing. . .*starts pouting*

I hope you liked the chapter :) Please let me know.

 

 **One important point I want to mention here** :

I will reply to all reviews, but it just takes some time to do so ;)

See ya

 

**OMAKE:**

Author: Okay, I want you to. . .

Natsuki & Shizuru: *start kissing*

Author: "HEY, that was NOT, what I wanted to write!"

Natsuki&Shizuru: no reaction, just kissing, ignoring the poor author. . .

Author: "HELLO, I'M TALKING TO YOU TWO!"

Natsuki&Shizuru: still no response. . .

Author: "Okay, do what you want to. I don't care anymore. . ." *walks away*

Natsuki: "Is she gone?"

Shizuru: *looks around* "Yes, now we are finally alone my Natsuki." seductive tone of voice

Natsuki: *hugs Shizuru* "Good to hear my love."

-censored version- ;)

  



	10. Chapter 10

 

I know, I stopped writing the last chapter just as it was getting interesting and I'm soooo sorry about that . . .^^ Not really, because I like teasing you guys with cliffhangers :p bad author. . .

 

**Disclaimer: Mai Hime belongs to . . .Sunrise. . .**

 

**Chapter 10**

Without thinking she lowered her head, seeing Natsuki's eyes slightly widen, but meeting no resistance, she placed her lips upon Natsuki's soft ones, closing her eyes in the process.

Natsuki's mind was working overtime. Her only thought was: My first kiss **IS** Shizuru.

Everything else vanished totally.

Her first reaction was to push the brunette away, but she just couldn't, because this was something she wanted so badly too, but was afraid to ask for.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds, because Shizuru realized what she was doing and backed away. But before she could do this, she was caught by Natsuki's arms holding her in place.

She was too afraid to face the blunette, but her name whispered so tenderly by Natsuki resulted in Shizuru looking at her.

"G-gomen. . .I. . .don't know. . ."

Shizuru had never in her entire life been so embarrassed about something. She had kissed Natsuki without even asking for permission. Now her whole body was trembling, because of the rejection, which would surely come.

Shizuru tried once again to free herself from Natsuki's grip, but it was futile.

"Please. . .let me. . . ."

Her sentence was interrupted by Natsuki, who used her right hand to tilt Shizuru's head in her direction and kiss her. Shizuru's mind went blank and she forgot all about getting out of Natsuki's grip.

Natsuki wasted no time, she gently pushed Shizuru down, so that she was half on top of the still stunned brunette. Feeling no resistance from Shizuru she let her right hand travel down her body until it reached the hem of Shizuru's blouse.

Still kissing, Natsuki let her hand glide under Shizuru's blouse, feeling the soft skin of her abdomen. She softly caressed the flesh, until she heard a satisfied moan coming from Shizuru.

This brought her back into reality and she realized what she had been doing.

Totally stunned she stopped kissing Shizuru and watched her crimson orbs slowly open. Her eyes were dark red, full of desire for Natsuki.

 _Oh my goddess, I was about to. . .to . . ._ Natsuki dared not to end her thought.

"Sh-shizuru. . .I . . .I . . .uhm. .. . "

Blushing she looked away, still half on top of the dazed brunette.

Shizuru on the other hand was still in heaven. She had never imagined, that she would get such a passionate response from the gargoyle.

Natsuki didn't dare to move one bit, even her hand remained where it was, on Shizuru's stomach. She waited for some response, but the brunette just looked at her dreamily.

"Uhm . . .Shizuru. . .?"

"Ara, sorry my Natsuki. . . what did you just say?"

This woman was unbelievable. Natsuki worried herself to death and Shizuru wasn't listening at all.

"I. . .uhm. . .wanted to apologize. I. . ."

"N-n-natsuki didn't like our kiss?"

Shizuru covered her face with both hands and started crying. One half was only fake crying, but the other half pleaded silently, that Natsuki wouldn't reject her.

_Is she bipolar or something?_

"N-n-noooo! I liked kissing you, b-but. . .uhm. . ." Natsuki was at a loss for words. How should she tell Shizuru, that she really liked kissing her, but she was a gargoyle and Shizuru human. That would never work.

"Sigh. . ."

She breathed in deeply and then looked into Shizuru's red orbs. Her "crying" had stopped, but Natsuki didn't say a thing.

"Look, I am a gargoyle and you are human. . .and . . .we. . .it can't. . .I mean. . .uhm. . . god this is so difficult. . . "

Shizuru placed a hand softly onto Natsuki's cheek. That made her look at the brunette.

"I love you, Natsuki. I can't help it. Whether you are human or a gargoyle. It doesn't matter to me. Please. . .don't shut me out. . ."

Shizuru ended her speech with a quick kiss on Natsuki's lips.

_She-she l-l-loves m-me?_

"Natsuki? Please say something."

Shizuru was really getting worried, because Natsuki didn't respond in any way. She just looked at Shizuru with a far away look in her eyes.

"G-g-gomen. . .I . . . "

Natsuki knew, that she wasn't very good with voicing her emotions, so she expressed them otherwise.

She leaned down and captured the stunned brunette's lips. Hopefully this would be enough as an answer to Shizuru. She placed all her love for the red-eyed goddess into this one kiss.

These feelings were still new to Natsuki and she had never thought, that she would feel this way about anyone, but here she was, kissing the woman that had walked her way right into her heart.

Throughout the kiss Shizuru started to get bolder. One of her hands was placed around Natsuki's waist whilst the other one snugged her way under Natsuki's shirt, massaging her back by moving up and down. This got her a pleasant purr from Natsuki.

Just as Natsuki wanted things to go further, she stopped. This got Shizuru all worried, but before she could ask what was going on, Natsuki placed a finger onto her lips to silence her.

She whispered: "Someone's coming."

She entangled herself from Shizuru, helped her up and they both hid behind one of the large rocks in the cave.

Then two gargoyles suddenly appeared at the entrance. Natsuki held her breath, because she recognized them immediately.

It was a younger version of herself and her cousin Nao.

"Oi mutt, what are we doing here? It's only an old cave. . .Let's go or I'll die because of boredom."

"Shut up, spider. Maybe we'll find something interesting."

"Yeah, yeah. . .whatever."

The small version of Natsuki began to explore the little cave. Only a few steps separated her from Natsuki and Shizuru.

"Hey mutt, I'm going and I'll throw away all of your mayo , if you don't come with me!"

"WHAT? You wouldn't. . ."

The small gargoyle ran immediately out of the cave and followed her cousin to save her beloved mayo.

After this little incident Shizuru looked at Natsuki. She saw the tears, that Natsuki tried hard to suppress.

"Natsuki?"

Shizuru took Natsuki into her arms, lightly stroking her back to calm her down. She felt her blouse getting wet, where Natsuki's head rested.

"I miss them so much. . . "

She hugged the brunette tighter and snuggled more into her shoulder. It was a little bit embarrassing to cry like a little child in front of Shizuru, but she was very thankful for the support, even if she would have never said that out loud.

Shizuru couldn't bear to see her loved one so troubled, so she thought of some way to cheer her up. She knew, that her plan would definitely be risky, because the worst thing, that could happen was, that they changed the future completely and she'll never meet Natsuki, but it was worth the risk.

"Natsuki?"

Getting the blunette's attention and facing her, she told her what she got planed.

"Natsuki, you miss them right?"

The sad look in the blunette's eyes told Shizuru more than thousand words.

"Maybe we can visit the castle and you can see them. What do you think? I mean, you are all grown up and they might not see the resemblance at first sight."

"I don't think this is such a good idea. What if they do recognize me and. . . No, we can't do this." She looked down defeated.

She liked Shizuru's plan, but on the other hand she was to afraid to change the future and loose Shizuru, that she rather endured the pain of not seeing her loved ones.

"Okay, it's too risky, but what if we visit the castle when you are human? Nobody knows that you transform at sunrise into a human woman. This way we could walk around and you could see them, maybe become friends. I know it is just for a short time, until we are able to return home, but I want to see your smiling face. It might be selfish, but to say the truth I want to see Natsuki's hometown, too."

Shizuru only whispered the last part, because it was somehow embarrassing for her to tell Natsuki that.

Natsuki's face also turned a deep shade of red, but she understood the feeling of getting to know her very good.

"Then it's settled. We are going tonight, because I can't fly without my wings."

Shizuru thought about this for a moment until she got an idea. It was just an experiment with her powers, but maybe she could control them somehow to get the desired effect.

"Natsuki? Would you please turn around?"

"Uhm. . .okay. . ."

Natsuki did as she was asked and turned around, her back facing Shizuru.

Then she felt Shizuru's hand on her upper back and a warm feeling engulfed her.

The next thing she knew was, that her shirt ripped apart at the back and two beautiful white wings spread out of her back.

"Sh-Shizuru?"

"Ara, it worked."

Natsuki turned around to face the brunette. She saw her breathing rather quickly. It must have cost a lot of energy and she was still exhausted because of her prior use of power.

"Now we can go."

"Uhm. . .Shizuru?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know how long they'll be there? I mean it would be very bad, if they disappeared along the way. . . "

"Don't worry, they should stay all the way up to the castle."

Shizuru smiled and walked to the entrance, waiting for the blunette to follow.

"Ready to go?"

The brunette nodded and was seconds later scooped up bridal-style.

Natsuki spread her wings and then the two flew up into the sky.

Fortunately the new wings were strong enough to carry them both safely through the sky.

"Not bad for your first try." Natsuki complimented Shizuru and was greeted with a beautiful blush forming on the brunette's cheeks.

"Natsuki ikezu." Shizuru tried pouting, but it was no use. Seeing the blunette smile, she just had to smile too.

They flew along the cliff to prevent the people from seeing them.

"Natsuki?"

"Mmh?"

"I've got a question."

"Yes?"

"I was wondering why you and your cousin are walking freely around, even if the sun is still shining. Shouldn't you be a stone stature?"

This question was bugging Shizuru since they saw the two little gargoyles happily playing with each other or more specific, teasing each other.

"Uhm . . .you know. . .there were a few exceptions. A few gargoyles were chosen to protect the castle during the day and so a powerful mage stopped the process of them turning into stone statues at day. But only the trustworthiest among them got this privilege. My mom and some of my friends were one of them."

Shizuru only nodded. Thankful that Natsuki shared this with her and on the other hand totally amazed, that such powerful people even existed.

Natsuki landed a few meters away from the castle's main gates and hid behind some trees, belonging to the forest near the castle, where she often had played hide and seek with Nao.

But they got a problem, because the wings didn't disappear, like they should have.

"Shizuru? Why am I still having these wings?"

"I don't know. . .maybe I did something wrong, but I must say, Natsuki looks really lovely with white wings. Just like an angel." She giggled lightly, as she saw Natsuki's flushed face.

"Stop laughing, this is serious! I just can't walk in there like this!"

"Why not?"

"W-w-why. . . because I look like an alien . . .sigh. . ."

"Maybe they'll don't see your wings?"

"Yeah, of course. . ."

"Let's just try it. They are used to seeing gargoyles all the time, so one woman with angel wings shouldn't surprise them much, don't you think?"

"I guess you're right. . .sigh . . .okay, let's go."

Natsuki grabbed Shizuru's hand and together they walked to the main gates. Both equally excited. One because she got the chance to see where her lover had lived and the other because she got the chance to see her friends and family once again.

Natsuki gulped as they reached the main gates. She wanted desperately to run, but that would definitely get everybody's attention, so she did her best to stay calm. Shizuru hand was helping very much.

Without any problems they were able to walk right through the main gates. Some people were looking at them, but Natsuki just used her death-glare and they quickly walked away.

"See Natsuki, absolutely no problem." Shizuru whispered.

Shizuru smiled at Natsuki and squeezed her hand gently to emphasize her point.

"So, what do you want to do now?"

"Uhm . . .I . . .I really don't have any idea. Maybe we could just walk around the market place and I'll show you my old house? Sounds good?"

"Yes."

The brunette interwined her fingers with Natsuki's and they silently walked around the city.

A few streets later the blunette suddenly stopped and Shizuru wondered why. She followed Natsuki's gaze and saw two gargoyle's playing together. They looked like mother and daughter.

_Could it be. . .?_

As she looked more closely, there was absolutely no mistaken. The young gargoyle was definitely Natsuki and that must have been her mother.

The good looks were definitely on her mothers side. Now that Natsuki was all grown-up, she looked like her mother, when in her gargoyle form.

_She's very beautiful._

Shizuru then looked at the blunette only to see, that she tried hard to hold her tears back.

"Natsuki. . ."

"I. . ."

If it wasn't for Shizuru she would have definitely broken down right there and then.

She remembered this moment like it had been yesterday. The embrace of her mother, the warmth that had flooded her whole body. She wished she could go there and tell her how much she loved her, but she knew, that she couldn't do this and that pained her greatly.

Shizuru saw the pained look and pulled on Natsuki's hand, getting her away from this scene as fast as possible.

They walked in silence, until they sat down under a huge tree, standing a little bit of to the side, so that less people walked past them.

Natsuki was still like a zombie. Her thoughts were elsewhere and she had a far away look in her eyes.

Deciding to do something against this, Shizuru placed her hand gently onto Natsuki's cheek and lifted her head, so that she could look into the forest – green eyes she loved so much.

"Natsuki, maybe it was a bad idea to come here. I didn't want you to be sad. . .I. . ."

"No Shizuru, you gave me the chance to see them once more and I am really grateful for that."

The blunette moved closer, until their lips touched, giving Shizuru a loving thank you kiss.

"I was just overwhelmed to see her so suddenly. Don't worry, I'll be fine." She smiled at Shizuru, to reassure her, that she was indeed fine.

 

Finally ready. . .My hands are bleeding and I just want to fall asleep. . .

Where's the compassion? I wrote this chapter as fast as humanly possible and absolutely nobody is clapping their hands?

*starts crying*

 

**OMAKE:**

Natsuki: "Shizuru? She's crying. . .again. . .What should we do this time?"

Shizuru: Don't know, puppy? What did we do the last time?"

Natsuki: "Uhm. . . we just ignored her."

Shizuru: "Okay, let's do it again."

Author: O_O "What the. . . HELLO . . .?"

Natsuki: "Did you hear something?"

Shizuru: "No, let's watch a movie."

Natsuki: "Okay, love."

Author: *sob*

 

**Information:**

The next story update will be "Healing". Just for your information. I know nobody's really interested. . .

Just kidding :p

I like you all, whether you're just reading my stories or actually reviewing! I know you are there ^^

  



	11. Chapter 11

Finally here it is. . . CHAPTER 11 J

Sorry for the long wait. I’ll try to update one of my stories monthly, so you don’t have to wait that long.

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**Disclaimer: Mai Hime belongs to . . .Sunrise. . .**

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**Chapter 11**

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Natsuki was still like a zombie. Her thoughts were elsewhere and she had a faraway look in her eyes.

Deciding to do something against this, Shizuru placed her hand gently onto Natsuki's cheek and lifted her head, so that she could look into the forest – green eyes she loved so much.

"Natsuki, maybe it was a bad idea to come here. I didn't want you to be sad. . .I. . ."

"No Shizuru, you gave me the chance to see them once more and I am really grateful for that."

The blunette moved closer, until their lips touched, giving Shizuru a loving thank you kiss.

"I was just overwhelmed to see her so suddenly. Don't worry, I'll be fine." She smiled at Shizuru, to reassure her, that she was indeed fine.

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A few minutes past until Shizuru risked a short look at Natsuki’s face. She said she was fine, but her eyes told a whole different story. They were flooded with sadness. Shizuru felt guilty for putting Natsuki in such a situation.

 

“Natsuki?”

 

“Mh?”

 

“Gomen, I was so selfish and didn’t think about your feelings at all . . . I just wanted to see your hometown . . . gomen . . .”

 

Natsuki sensing that Shizuru was about to cry pulled the brunette into her arms and cradled her head softly against her shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. Remember, I told you that it was okay to come here. I knew that I would have to face them eventually. So, don’t blame yourself . . . please.”

 

Shizuru lifted her head and looked at Natsuki with unshed tears in her eyes.

 

The blunette smiled and kissed Shizuru lovingly on the lips reassuring her, that everything was going to be fine.

 

Deciding to change the subject Natsuki got up and said: “Let’s go and find a place to stay, shall we?”

 

“Okay.”

 

Feeling better they walked back onto the lively street and Shizuru let herself be led to a huge house. It looked a little bit like a hotel and the name of this hotel was “Hime Inn”.

 

“We can stay here until I’ve found a way to get us back.”

 

Shizuru nodded and followed Natsuki into the house.

 

“Natsuki? How will we pay for a room? We don’t have any money.” She whispered.

 

“Don’t worry. That will be no problem.”

 

At the front desk was a young woman with red hair. She looked very friendly and greeted them as she spotted Natsuki and Shizuru. And to Shizuru’s surprise she didn’t look scared or surprised because of Natsuki’s unusual appearance.

 

“Hello, how can I help you?”

 

“Hi, we need a room for a few days.”

 

“Okay and may I ask why you are here in our town?”

 

“You may, we want to look for a house and therefore we visit a few towns.”

 

“You will certainly find a few very lovely houses here. If you need any help, just ask. I know just the right people to help you.”

 

“Thank you. We will consider it.”

 

“Good. So, your room is on the second floor. It’s number 2.”

 

Natsuki bowed and then walked away with Shizuru right next to her.

 

“I never knew that Natsuki wants to live with me.” She teased the poor blunette who started blushing after this comment.

 

“Don’t get any ideas, but I know the owner and her weakness. She just loves to show houses to traveling people.”

 

“So, this woman was one of your friends?”

 

“Yes, one of my closest friends.” Natsuki smiled sadly at Shizuru. She herself was surprised how good she had handled the situation with Mai.

 

Finally reaching their room, Natsuki opened the door for Shizuru and then closed the door after stepping inside behind the brunette.

 

The room was not very big, but it was enough space to sleep and eat. She knew, that she couldn’t expect much more.

 

Shizuru looked back at Natsuki who stood with her back leaning against the door.

 

“You okay?”

 

The brunette walked in front of Natsuki and softly placed a hand against her cheek.

 

“Just exhausted. It is so difficult to act as if I don’t know them all. I just want to tell them who I am and hug them. I miss them so much. This pain is almost unbearable.”

 

Natsuki looked at Shizuru. The tears falling uncontrollably down her cheeks.

 

“I know.”

 

Shizuru engulfed the blunette in a warm hug and led her to the only bed in the room.

 

The both lay down and hugged each other for comfort. Shizuru slowly wiped away the tears and looked lovingly into Natsuki’s sad emerald orbs.

 

“I’m so sorry that I have caused you so much pain. I. I used my powers not willingly to bring us back here. .. I. .. “

 

“Sshh. I told you not to worry about that. It is very painful, but I am also very glad that I could see them once again. Thanks so very much Shizuru.”

 

She hugged the brunette tighter and snuggled her face into the crook of Shizuru’s neck, inhaling her sweet scent. This calmed her down a little bit.

 

“Shizuru?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Let’s just stay here today. I don’t want to go outside. I want to be right here with you.”

 

She looked up into stunned ruby orbs and smiled. _Gotcha._

 

“If Natsuki wishes . . .”

 

Natsuki only nodded and snuggled once again up to Shizuru.

 

They both fell asleep in each other’s arms, content with the warm feeling surrounding them.

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Meanwhile at the castle:

The receptionist was not so disinterested as Shizuru had first thought. Right after Natsuki and Shizuru had been out of sight she almost ran out of the hotel to report to the mage.

 

“Mai, what a lovely surprise. What are you doing her?”

 

“Reito, I need to speak to Mikoto. It’s very urgent.”

 

“Calm down first. What’s going on?”

 

“You wouldn’t believe me. I just saw. . .I. . .”

 

“MAI.”

 

The red-head was hugged fiercely from behind.

 

“MIKOTO. . . Don’t surprise me like that.”

 

“Gomen, but I missed you.” Mikoto hugged her tighter and snuggled her face into her should blades.

At times like these it was hard to tell if this spiky haired girl really was such a powerful mage.

 

“What brings you here?”

 

“I have big new to tell you Mikoto.”

 

Mikoto picked up the almost panicked state Mai was in and listened closely.

 

“Today two guests checked in and they told me that they are looking for a house, but I didn’t believe them one bit, because something was different about them. One had dark blue hair and pure white wings, the other one was a stunningly beautiful brunette with rare red eyes. But the aura surrounding them was. ..I don’t know how to describe it. They seemed to be quite powerful and . . .yeah. . .the blue-haired woman looked very familiar. You know I am very sensible to people with magic powers and I think we should keep an eye on them. Just to make sure they don’t mean trouble.”

 

“If you are so worried about them, I will call Akira. She is the best woman for this job.”

 

“Thank you Mikoto. I wouldn’t have bugged you if I haven’t had such a fishy feeling.”

 

“I know love.” Mikoto kissed Mai lovingly on her lips.

 

“Excuse me, I am sorry for interrupting this lovely moment, but Mikoto we have to tell her highness the news.”

 

“You are right brother. Gomen Mai, but duty calls.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. See you at dinner?”

 

“Always.”

 

With one last kiss Mikoto went with Reito away and Mai left for her hotel. Hoping that the two new guests wouldn’t mean trouble at all. At first glance they looked so nice and in love.

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Back at the hotel room:

Natsuki slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she noticed was the warmth radiating from the brunettes body. She loved this feeling. She felt not only warm, she also felt save and loved.

 

“Shizuru. . .” The brunette smiled in her sleep and cuddled closer to Natsuki.

 

_She is so cute when she sleeps._

 

Natsuki looked around the room and here gazes settled on the only window. The sun was setting and she slowly stood up as to not wake up Shizuru when she transformed into her gargoyle form.

 

Minutes later the sun was gone and the night greeted her, but her body was still the same.

 

_Why am I still human and. . .these wings. . ._

 

This must have been a side effect of Shizuru’s magic. But this time she didn’t mind herself staying human so much. One advantage was that nobody would recognize her that easily and the second one was that Shizuru probably liked her human form better.

 

With one last sigh she settled back into bed and hugged the brunette close to her. Her wings cradling her and keeping her warm.

 

“Natsuki. . .?”

 

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

 

“I missed you. Where have you been?”

“I didn’t want to wake you up, because of my transformation, but obviously your magic stopped it once again.”

 

She felt Shizuru’s body stiffen, remembering the last time she got very angry because of her failed transformation.

 

“Don’t worry. I am not mad at you.”

 

Shizuru reluctantly looked up into the blunettes eyes. Afraid that she might see the same fury she had seen the last time.

 

“Sure?”

 

It was whispered so tenderly, that Natsuki felt guilty for putting this fear into Shizuru.

 

Not wanting to worry Shizuru further she leaned down and captured those sweet lips. She heard a small moan from Shizuru and knew that she wasn’t afraid anymore. Her right hand found her way to Shizuru’s face, where it caressed the blushing cheek tenderly.

 

Shizuru encircled Natsuki’s neck and in the process the blunette rolled on top of Shizuru, pressing their bodies together.

 

After a few minutes of kissing they both separated for much needed air.

 

Red gazed at green and both were heavily panting.

 

“Shizuru. . .”

 

Natsuki leaned down once again and this time the kiss was much more driven by lust. The brunette placed her hands under Natsuki’s shirt and caressed her back lovingly, earning satisfied moans from the woman above.

If there hadn’t been a knocking sound at the door, things would have definitely escalated. Natsuki reluctantly parted from Shizuru and walked to the door.

 

She opened it and saw a smiling red-head in front of her.

 

“Hi, I just wanted to ask if you want something to eat. You know, our kitchen is the best in the whole town.”

 

“No, thanks we don’t need. . .” A loud growling sound interrupted Natsuki’s speech.

 

Blushing heavily she looked away from the giggling red-head.

 

Warm arms encircled her from behind and her embarrassment slowly faded.

 

“Thank you. We would gladly take your offer.”

 

Shizuru smiled at Mai and tightened her hold on Natsuki who still blushed cutely.

 

“Okay, I will bring it right away.” Mai hurriedly walked back to the kitchen to prepare the food. Sure, that if she had stayed there any longer the blunette would have definitely jumped her. Those eyes were a little bit frightening when angry.

 

After closing the door Natsuki entangled herself from Shizuru and sighed.

 

“You okay, Natsuki?”

 

“Yeah, but why has it always to be me?”

 

“Because you are so cute hen you are embarrassed.” Shizuru giggled and was soon tackled to the bed by her growling puppy.

 

“Shizuru!”

 

Natsuki laid herself on top of the brunette and sighed once again in contentment. Absolutely happy with the position she was in.

 

Shizuru on the other hand encircled the blunettes waist and kissed her forehead.

 

“You really are a cute little cuddle puppy.”

 

Natsuki responded by lifting her head and kissing Shizuru lovingly on the lips.

 

“I am your little cuddle puppy.” She smiled and blushed because of her embarrassing statement.

 

The brunette blushed as well, not expecting such a response.

 

Still in a haze Shizuru didn’t realize that Natsuki was gone until she heard the door opening and Natsuki taking their food from Mai.

 

“Thanks for the food.”

 

“You are welcome. If you need anything else, just call.”

 

“Okay, thanks again. Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight.” Mai bowed and walked away.

 

Natsuki closed the door and placed the food on a nearby table.

 

“The food smells delicious.”

 

“Yeah, but I am missing my Mayo. . .” Natsuki looked down like a beaten up puppy.

 

Shizuru sat down and smiled at her little gargoyle. She was really cute when in puppy-mode.

 

“Come on Natsuki. I won’t be that bad.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Natsuki sat down next to Shizuru and both started eating.

 

After one bite the blunette suddenly stopped and looked down at the bowl.

 

“Natsuki? Everything’s okay?”

 

Not getting a response Shizuru was getting worried. What was wrong with Natsuki?

 

“Natsuki?”

 

The gargoyle looked at her and Shizuru saw the tears falling down. Seconds later the blunette was in her arms crying like a little child.

 

Slowly Shizuru got the whole picture. The food was cooked by Mai and Mai was a dear friend of Natsuki. So this was the first time after hundreds of years that Natsuki ate Mai’s food.

 

“Oh Natsuki . . .”

 

Tightening her hold on Natsuki she rocked the blunette gently until she finally calmed down.

“I’m sorry for losing control like this, again. . . I . . . I . . . “

 

“Don’t worry about it love. It’s natural for you to feel sad after seeing first your mother and now your best friend. You have lost them long ago.”

 

“I know, thanks for being by my side.”

 

Natsuki lifted her head and kissed the brunette tenderly.

 

“I don’t know what I would do without you by my side. It sounds a bit weird to say it out loud, because I never expected to feel . . .love again. But. . .I think it’s time to finally admit that . . .that I love you. . .with all my heart and I won’t ever let go of you.”

 

Natsuki speech left Shizuru stunned and blushing. She wasn’t able to form a coherent sentence. She believed that Natsuki was in love with her, but she doubted that she would admit it that soon. Now the gargoyle sat in front her of her finally telling her the words she wanted to hear so badly.

 

“Natsuki.” Shizuru almost squealed in delight and kissed the smiling blunette fiercely.

 

“You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”

 

“Shizuru. . .”

 

Natsuki took the woman in her arms and both tightened their hold and softly cried in each others shoulder.

 

After a few minutes Natsuki loosened her hold and gazed at her lover. Seeing the beautifullest woman on earth sitting in front of her.

 

“I think we should eat the food before it gets cold and then take some more rest. I can see it in your eyes, that your are still sleepy. Tomorrow I will show you the rest of the town, okay?”

“I would like that.”

 

They both smiled and then ate the rest of the delicious food.

 

“Good night Shizuru.”

 

“Night my puppy.”

 

Natsuki smiled and hugged Shizuru close to her body. Not knowing how she had ever fallen asleep without this woman next to her.

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Dream:

 

“Shizuru? Where are you?”

 

Natsuki walked through the front door of Shizuru’s apartment. The lights were out, but she could hear voices coming from the bedroom.

 

Thinking that the woman she loved was in danger she walked cautiously to the slightly opened door and inhaled deeply.

 

Opening the door softly she looked stunned at the picture in front of her.

 

In the middle of the room was Shizuru, but not alone. A black haired man stood next to her, holding her and almost kissing Shizuru on her lips, but he stopped as he spotted Natsuki at the door.

 

“Look Shizuru, we have company.”

 

“Oh, hello Natsuki. Welcome home. Sorry, where are my manners. Let me introduce you to my boyfriend.”

Natsuki didn’t hear anything else. She felt betrayed. She thought Shizuru felt the same, but she had been deadly wrong.

 

“Shizuru?”

 

“Oh Natsuki, don’t look at me like this. You really thought I could love a monster? You were right. Human and gargoyles don’t match. I am really grateful for the time we’ve spent together, but this will end today. I don’t love you, not after you’ve transformed in a full gargoyle. How do you expect me to love. . . this? How would my friends or society react if they found out? No, I don’t want to face this shame. Gomen.”

 

Natsuki was unable to give a response. Her heart broke at the sight and Shizuru’s hurtful words. She bowed her head and the last thing she heard were words of endearment whispered to each other before all words stopped and she was sure, that Shizuru and her boyfriend started kissing.

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“Aaahhhhh!”

 

Natsuki looked frantically around and found her self back in the room she stayed in with. . .Shizuru. She looked down to see concerned rubies looking back at her.

 

“Natsuki?”

 

Shizuru reached out to touch the gargoyle, but saw Natsuki flinch back.

 

“Don’t. . .”

 

The blunette left the bed and looked out the window. Her thoughts were in turmoil after the dream. It had felt so real. She looked back at Shizuru who still sat in bed, watching her.

_Would she really leave me if I transform in a complete gargoyle. Or is love enough to keep us together. Sigh. . .this is really complicated. I should have never let her know my feelings. Stupid move Natsuki._

 

Shizuru was now really worried. Natsuki refused her touch and left her alone. She looked so sad, but what was wrong?

 

Wanting to try again she stood up and walked behind Natsuki to embrace her from behind. She felt the blunette stiffen and she could feel that Natsuki wanted to run away.

 

“Please. . .let go. . .”

 

“No, not until you tell me what’s wrong all of a sudden.”

 

“I. . .” _She will definitely leave you. So tell her now, so that she won’t get a chance to break your heart._

 

Shizuru waited patiently.

 

“I . . . I regret. . .what I said yesterday. . .I. . .I told you before, that humans and gargoyle shouldn’t be together and. . . I. . .I know that you think you love me, but. . .think about it. . .”

 

Natsuki turned around and took Shizuru’s hands off of her.

 

“What will you do if I am a complete gargoyle? I can’t just walk around the streets with you. I can’t touch you, because I would be afraid that I hurt you with my claws. It was wrong to tell you “I love you” yesterday. Things won’t work out between us. Don’t you see that?”

 

Natsuki could almost watch Shizuru’s heart break. Her face went pale and her cheeks were tear-stained. She wanted to hold her, but this was off limits. She wanted Shizuru to be happy and knew, that she couldn’t be happy with Natsuki by her side.

 

“Tomorrow I will look for a way to get you back home. I will leave you forever after this. Don’t worry.”

 

Natsuki walked to the door and within seconds vanished into the night.

Shizuru on the other hand stood motionless in the room. She felt lost, alone and betrayed. Was this just a cruel game? Did Natsuki only play with her feelings? She fell to the ground, but registered no pain. Her whole body felt heavy and the tears didn’t stop falling.

 

“You really are a heartless monster. . . .Natsuki.”

 

The next thing happened without Shizuru realizing anything, because she felt unconscious.

 

A purple light surrounded her body and soon after a giant snake destroyed half of the hotel. It’s eyes blazing deep red with fury.

 

Shizuru herself was sleeping inside the huge monster. Her tears still falling down. Her thoughts circled around Natsuki and how stupid she felt for giving her chance to hurt her heart again.

 

_Never again will I let someone break my heart._

 

Natsuki heard the commotion coming from the hotel and rushed back as fast as possible.

 

_Please be safe, Shizuru._

 

Upon arriving she saw the huge beast and recognized the snake immediately.

 

_Damn, this is Shizuru’s guardian and it looks like she’s not controlling it._

 

The snake destroyed the houses near the hotel and fought every soldier coming its way. Nobody could stop this monster.

 

They tried to kill the monster, but it was in vain. Then out of nowhere a blue cloud formed in front of the snake.

 

Natsuki knew who was coming and she had to stop them, because Shizuru’s life was at stake.

 

Mikoto stepped out of the cloud and faced the snake.

 

“Step back, I will take charge and destroy this monster.”

 

She lifted her hand and a huge sword appeared in it. Mikoto was ready to charge at the monster, but just as she wanted to a figure stepped in her way.

 

“Don’t please. . .”

 

“Step aside or I’ll kill you.”

 

“No, I will protect Shizuru. No matter what.”

 

“I will say it one last time. Step aside or I’ll kill you too. This monster is dangerous and I can’t allow it to hurt the people.”

 

“Please, let me try to stop it.”

 

The snake cried out and charged at them both.

 

“Too late.”

 

Mikoto pushed Natsuki aside and readied herself to slash the snake.

 

Before she could deliver the final blow Natsuki stepped between them. Stopping Mikoto’s blade, but getting bitten by the snake in the process. The snake ripped apart her wings and the gargoyle fell to her knees bleeding heavily.

 

“Why did you?”

 

Mikoto was stunned. First because Natsuki took the blow of her sword so easily and second because she suffered such a severe wound only to defend a beast.

 

“I love her! Don’t you ever touch her.”

 

“What do you. . .?”

 

Mikoto looked closely at the snake and then she saw it too, a woman lay inside this giant monster. Her powers were very strong, but in her current state she wasn’t a very big help.

 

She let her sword disappear and looked at the blunette.

 

“You have one chance. If she doesn’t respond, she will die.”

 

Natsuki nodded and stood on wobbling feet.

 

“Shizuru. . .”

 

The blunette walked in front of the snake and shouted.

 

“Please, Shizuru, stop this. . . I know I’ve hurt your feelings deeply and there is absolutely no excuse. But please. . .don’t hurt innocent people. If you want to hurt someone, here I am.”

 

She stepped closer, hearing the deep growl coming from the snake.

 

The snake was ready to attack Natsuki and the gargoyle didn’t step back or evaded the attack, so the teeth bored into her right hip.

 

“Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. . . . !!!”

 

The pain was incredible. She was now in the snakes’ mouth and if it decided to bite down it would be Natsuki’s end.

 

She looked into the snakes’ eyes and saw sadness behind all this fury.

 

“Oh g-god. . .S-Sh-izur-u, I am so s-sorry. . .ngh. . .P-please, calm d-down. . .I. . . aaahhhh”

 

The snake bit down and the blood ran down Natsuki’s arms and legs, dripping on the ground under her.

 

“I. . . I k-now, I. . .cough. . .I. . .don’t deserve. . .y-your f-f-forgiveness, b-but please. . . don’t hurt the p-p-people. . .I-it was . . .cough. . .m-my stupidity. . .again.”

 

Natsuki cried and looked the snake deep in the eyes.

 

“G-g-gomen. . .”

 

She lost consciousness and therefore missed the tears falling from the snakes’ eyes. The purple light vanished together with the giant snake. The one left was a speechless Shizuru, kneeling on the ground next to the severely wounded blunette.

 

She cradled the blunette softly in her arms.

 

“NATSUKI!!”

 

Mikoto stepped next to Shizuru and kneeled down.

 

“Don’t worry. Give her time. Her wounds will heal.”

Shizuru looked at the small girl and nodded.

 

Then Mikoto signaled two guards to take the wounded woman to the doctor and allowed Shizuru to stay with here.

 

“Luckily nobody stayed in the hotel except for those two.” Mai walked up behind Mikoto.

 

“Yeah, you were right. Those two are very special, but I don’t think, that they are enemies. Akira won’t be needed in this matter. Now we can watch them closely in the castle.”

 

“You are right, but what about my hotel?”

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

Mikoto looked back at the scene and within seconds the hotel and the surrounding houses were back to how they have been.

 

“You are absolutely incredible, Mikoto.”

 

“Thanks Mai.”

 

Mikoto smiled and then walked back to the castle.

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Hours later / Nighttime

Shizuru sat beside Natsuki bed and looked at all the wounds she had caused. Natsuki’s beautiful white wings were gone and her right side was also heavily wounded. The doctor had cleaned and bandaged the wounds as best as possible. Now all they could do was wait for them to heal.

 

“I am so sorry. I have been so angry, because I thought you only played with me. . .Kanni na Natsuki for being such a troublemaker.”

 

Shizuru laid her head on the bed and cried.

 

A pained noise let her lift her head and she looked at the pain filled face of Natsuki.

 

In panic she wanted to ran outside to get the doctor, but something stopped her to do so. After observing Natsuki for a few seconds, she knew that her decision was right.

 

Her wounds closed and her color changed. _She transforms back._

 

“Ngh. . .my head. . .”

 

Natsuki looked around the room and her eyes settled on the brunette next to her.

 

Immediately she sprang out of the bed and looked away from Shizuru.

 

“You are really a gargoyle. Impressive.”

 

Both looked in the direction where the voice came from.

 

Mikoto was leaning against the doorframe and watching them both.

 

“I thought something was different, but I never thought you would be a gargoyle. Your name’s Natsuki right?”

 

Natsuki nodded and watch Mikoto coming closer.

 

“The resemblance is quite huge. You look like your mother.”

 

Shizuru and Natsuki were stunned, that their identity had been blown so quickly.

 

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, but you should stay here. Everyone will know who you are if you step outside right now.”

 

Mikoto vanished as fast as he had appeared, leaving both woman to deal with each other again.

 

Natsuki was still unable to face Shizuru. Now in her gargoyle form it was even harder to say or do something.

 

“Natsuki. . .?”

 

She flinched slightly upon hearing her name being called.

 

Taking a deep breath she looked up and faced her former lover. She saw the exhaustion in the others eyes and took this chance to evade their conversation.

 

“Shizuru, let’s talk tomorrow. You are tired and I am quite sure, that you have been here the whole day. So. . .”

 

“NO! We talk now or I don’t want to hear anything from you anymore.”

 

“I. . .sigh. . .okay. . .”

 

She took a deep breath and sat down on the bed next to Shizuru.

 

“I had this dream. . .about you. . .and. . .and. . .sigh. You were not alone. . .you were kissing your. . .your b-b-boyfriend. . .After this dream I thought about this whole situation. My feelings haven’t changed, but let’s not stay in our dream world and face reality. How could we possibly live together? I love you more than anything and therefore I want you to be happy. I. . .I know now, that I am not the one you can live with and be happy. . .I. . .” She looked down at her hands and sighed deeply.

 

“You really believe that I would leave you for some man coming my way? Do you really think sp little of my love for you? Natsuki, I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I want to share my life with you. How could you even think to leave me because of such a foolish dream?”

 

She placed her hand softly on the gargoyles cheek and lifted her face to meet her eyes.

 

“You are my world. Without you I am nothing. Don’t you realize how lost I am without you by my side? Please Natsuki, don’t shut me out.”

 

She kissed Natsuki tenderly on the lips.

 

“Shizuru. . .”

 

Tears were now falling down Natsuki’s cheeks and she hugged Shizuru closed to her body.

 

_How could I be so stupid?_

 

“Baka Natsuki.”

 

Just in this moment Mai decided to open the door.

 

“Oh sorry, I wanted to. . .to. . . .N-n-natu-ki?”

 

Natsuki looked back at Mai, Shizuru still holding in her arms.

 

“Mai. . .”

 

“Y-you r-r-really are. . .oh my god. . .”

“Mai, I will explain everything later, but right now, I want to be alone. . .please.”

 

Mai seeing the pleading look only nodded and left the room, deciding to find Mikoto and get her answers from the mage.

 

“Sigh, we should probably lock the door.”

 

“Why? Does Natsuki want to do naughty things to me?” Shizuru giggled at seeing the blushing face.

 

“Don’t start.”

 

With one push Shizuru lay in bed under Natsuki and was unable to move. Her cheeks started blushing because of Natsuki’s forwardness.

 

“Do you forgive me one more time for being such an idiot?”

 

“I. . .I honestly don’t know.”

 

This got Natsuki all worried because she thought she had lost every chance to be with Shizuru because of her stupidity.

 

“Okay, I get it. . .gomen.”

 

Natsuki wanted to lift her body, but Shizuru stopped her.

 

“Don’t get me wrong. I still love you, but I am afraid. . .afraid of losing you again because of some stupid dream or something said to you. I don’t want my heart getting broken every time you have doubts.”

 

Shizuru looked pleadingly into her lovers eyes. She wanted Natsuki to love her without regretting it sometime later.

 

“This is all so new to me. Never in my life did I want to stay with someone that badly. My emotions are sometimes very confusing, but believe me, I never wanted to hurt you. I want what is best for you, even if you decide to live without me. But, just answer me one question: How are we supposed to live in your time?”

 

“I. . .”

 

Natsuki looked down at the brunette and smiled a sad smile.

 

“You know, gargoyles were common in ancient times but in your times we are myths. A story told by mothers to scare their little children.”

 

“We will find a way.” Shizuru whispered softly, wanting Natsuki to believe in their love.

 

“I wish you were right Shizuru, but. . .”

 

Shizuru interrupted her, coming up with a good idea.

 

“What about my powers? I can change you whenever you want. I can. . .”

 

Natsuki looked deep into Shizuru’s eyes and she knew her mistake immediately.

 

_She won’t be happy in my world. . ._

 

“Shizuru, I don’t want to hide my appearance just to stay with you. I want to be myself and I. . .I don’t know what to do anymore. My heart tells me to do everything in my might to stay by your side, but . . .how can I stay with you and live a lie? I was born a gargoyle.”

 

Tears fell down onto Shizuru and she softly caressed Natsuki’s cheek. She let herself fall down gently onto Shizuru and silently cried in her arms.

 

“I’m sorry for suggesting such a stupid thing. I know you are proud to be a gargoyle. Sorry for being so selfish.”

 

Natsuki calmed down after a few minutes and just enjoyed being close to Shizuru and inhaling her sweet scent.

 

_I am so stupid for falling in love with a human._

 

Shizuru sensing that Natsuki had calmed down couldn’t ignore the fact any longer that Natsuki was on top of her and they both were laying in a warm, soft bed together.

 

“Natsuki. . .” She purred into Natsuki’s ear and her hands slowly lifted the blunettes shirt and caressed hr back tenderly.

 

_She is so soft._

 

“Sh-Shizuru what are you. . .ungh. . .”

 

Her right hand was now on Natsuki’s abdomen and travelled upwards, stopping under the swell of her breast.

 

“This time Natsuki, I won’t stop myself.”

 

The blunette looked at her lover and recognized the look of long held back lust in her eyes. Shizuru’s eyes were blood red and her breathing started to get heavy.

 

“Shizuru.”

 

She bent down and kissed the woman under her softly on the lips. The kiss started slow and tender, but soon turned passionate.

 

Shizuru almost ripped Natsukis shirt apart, but at the last second she got a hold of herself and took it of carefully. She blushed heavily as she saw, that Natsuki was not wearing a bra under her shirt.

 

The blunette was straddling her, her upper body was naked and Shizuru almost fell unconscious after seeing her lover half naked.

 

“You are so beautiful Natsuki.”

 

The blunette smiled and returned the favor by stripping Shizuru down. The only part left now were her panties. Natsuki leaned down again after removing her pants too and both moaned after their bare breasts touched.

 

_This feels so good._

 

They kissed again and Natsuki let her right hand travel to play with Shizuru’s breast. Her nipples instantly got hard and Natsuki pinched one little nub between her fingers, earning satisfied moans from her lover.

 

“Oh god. . .”

 

She repeated the process with the brunettes other breast and felt the body under her writhe in pleasure.

 

Shizuru lifted her right leg and Natsuki moaned because she hit Natsuki’s sensitive spot.

 

“Aaahhh. . .Shizuru. . .”

 

Shizuru blushed because Natsuki wore no panties and she could feel the wetness. This turned her on even more.

 

Natsuki wanting to get back for this womanly squeal steadied herself with her hands and leant down to lick the stiff nipples in front of her.

 

The brunettes hips started bucking uncontrollably.

 

“More. . . please. . .”

 

The gargoyle spread Shizuru’s legs apart and brought her own knee between them to press against Shizuru’s center, not stopping her assault on Shizuru’s nipples.

 

“Ungh. . .god. . .”

 

Natsuki sensed the brunette trying to get more pressure on her center, but Natsuki stopped her movement every time she started rocking her hips against her knee.

 

“Please, Natsuki. . . I need you. . .ungh. . .”

 

“Not yet Shizuru, I want to lick every part of your body before I’ll let you come.”

 

The brunette blushed more and bit her lip to stop herself from moaning out too loud, but Natsuki’s ministrations made it very difficult to not lose control.

 

Natsuki on the other hand had enough of licking Shizuru’s breasts. She started get down the brunettes body, licking her way to her belly-button and then further down, reaching the place where Shizuru needed her the most.

 

Her sensible nose smelled the delicious scent of Shizuru’s arousal.

 

“Mmh, you smell delicious.”

Almost fainting from her deep blush, Shizuru pushed Natsuki down.”

 

Natsuki smiled and obliged Shizuru’s request.

 

She licked slowly up and down, gathering as much of Shizuru’s fluids as she could. She didn’t want to waste any of it.

 

“Aahh, s-stop t-teasing. . .p-please. . .ungh. . . “

 

Her ministrations were almost too much for Shizuru to handle.

 

Natsuki’s licking began to get faster and she stayed in synch with Shizuru’s bucking hips.

 

“You are mine.” She murmured and then stopped licking for a moment only to wet two of her fingers, positioning them at Shizuru’s entrance.

 

“May I?”

 

Shizuru only nodded, unable to speak because of her heavy panting.

 

Slowly inserting the two fingers she waited a moment for Shizuru to get accustomed to the intrusion. The she slowly started licking Shizuru’s clit and then pushed her two fingers all the way in, hearing the loud scream of Shizuru as her hymen was torn apart.

 

“AAAAHHHHHH!”

 

To keep the pleasure up Natsuki started a steady rhythm and soon heard the satisfied moans again.

 

“Faster. . .”

 

Natsuki kept pushing in and out at a faster speed and sensed that Shizuru was nearing the edge. Her body moved upwards the glistening body of her lover, never stopping her ministrations.

 

Leaning above her she kissed Shizuru on the lips and whispered: “You are so beautiful Shizuru, I love you.”

 

With one final push Shizuru cried out in ecstasy and her hips lifted off the bed.

 

The gargoyle kept her fingers inside to prolong Shizuru’s orgasm as long as possible.

 

“That. . .that was. . .wow.”

 

Shizuru panted heavily, but right now she didn’t mind, she was in heaven and her angel was right next to her.

 

“Ungh. . .”

 

Natsuki pulled out her fingers and lay next to her lover, licking her fingers clean of Shizuru’s juices.

 

“You are delicious Shizuru.” She winked at the brunette, who blushed deep red in response.

 

Then she slowly rolled half on top of her to give her a loving kiss.

 

Shizuru could taste herself in this kiss and smiled. After the kiss she gazed deeply into Natsuki’s eyes and they both forgot the world around them.

 

Shizuru sensed suddenly that something was wrong. Her beloved was trembling and her eyes were dark green and she was also slightly flushed.

 

“Natsuki. . .”

 

“Shizuru, I. . .”

 

Knowing what was wrong Shizuru signaled Natsuki to position herself above her head. She knew that Natsuki was still quite aroused and needed to come, but was afraid to ask, because she thought that Shizuru might find her body disgusting, because she was still a gargoyle.

 

“Natsuki, you are stunningly beautiful whether you are a gargoyle or human. Now come here. I want to give you a few puppy licks.”

 

Deeply blushing the blunette positioned herself as instructed and lowered herself down to Shizuru’s waiting mouth.

 

She was dripping with desire and soon she felt Shizuru’s heavenly tongue doing it’s work.

 

“Oh. . . god. . .keep going.”

 

The licks got faster and she could feel the strength leaving her.

 

“Faster.”

 

Her hips bucked in response and the licks got faster and her breathing started to get erratic.

 

Then Shizuru circled her clit and Natsuki almost lost it. She didn’t know how long she could last, but she definitely wanted it to last forever.

 

Shizuru tried to get every last drop and give Natsuki pure pleasure.

 

“Ungh. . .”

 

With one last stroke Shizuru plunged her tongue deep into Natsuki and this was the last straw for the poor gargoyle. Her whole body exploded in pleasure.

 

Licking the last few drops from Natsuki’s pussy she let the blunette rest herself next to Shizuru. They kissed tenderly, until the need to breath was too great.

 

“That. . .that was. . .”

 

Unable to voice her amazement she kissed her lover once gain and held her tenderly against her body.

 

“I love you.”

 

“I love you, too Shizuru.”

 

Natsuki took the bed sheets and covered them both.

 

“I think now we should both rest a little bit. What do you think love?”

 

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

 

Natsuki snuggled closer to Shizuru and both fell asleep in each other’s arms.

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Wow, that is the longest chapter I have ever written J

I promised a story update at the end of April. . . Here it is.

Thanks for all the reviews so far and for all the people who patiently wait for updates J

 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Mai Hime belongs to SUNRISE! Believe it or not! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 12:

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Unable to voice her amazement she kissed her lover once again and held her tenderly against her body.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too Shizuru.”

Natsuki took the bed sheets and covered them both.

“I think now we should both rest a little bit. What do you think love?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

Natsuki snuggled closer to Shizuru and both fell asleep in each other’s arms. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hours passed until the first rays of sunlight shone through the small window next to both sleeping woman. Natsuki’s transformation had happened without them knowing and without Natsuki feeling any pain, because she was just too exhausted from last night’s activities.

Shizuru was the first one to slowly open her eyes. She gazed lovingly at the still sleeping woman next to her. She softly caressed Natsuki’s cheek and put a stray strand of blue hair behind her ear. Natsuki mumbled something in her sleep and smiled.

_So cute._

The brunette couldn't stop herself and her hand almost automatically followed the smooth skin along Natsuki’s neck. She loved to tenderly caress the blunette’s soft skin. It was one of her new hobbies, right after playing doctor with Natsuki in bed.

Remembering the events of last night let her cheeks start to heat up and a pleasant warmth filled her chest.

"Shizuru. . . "

Shizuru looked at Natsuki’s face, but she was still fast asleep. A devilish thought came to mind how to wake up her girlfriend best.

She let her hand wander down, passing the swells of Natsuki’s breasts, seeing her nipples get hard. She gulped and it was very difficult for her to stop herself from taking one of the blunette’s pert nipples into her mouth.

_God. . .this is so arousing._

Getting further down, she reached Natsuki’s belly and her hand massaged across it a few times. The blunette stirred once again in her sleep but didn't wake up.

_You are a very heavy sleeper, my Natsuki._

Shizuru was torturing herself with this, but she wanted for Natsuki to have a good start this morning and this was the best way she could think of.

Her hand was almost at her goal, but before she reached it another hand stopped her from going further down.

"I can't let my guard down around you, can I?"

Shizuru looked up and gazed in to two beautiful smiling viridian orbs.

"I don't know what you mean, my Natsuki."

She felt the pressure on her hand lessen and took this chance to put her hand onto Natsuki’s treasure. This got her a satisfied moan in response.

"Ungh. . . "

"You are already so wet . . .mmmhh. . ."

Natsuki spread her legs wider to give Shizuru better access. The brunette used this to push two fingers into Natsuki without warning. Just as she wanted to start with a steady rhythm the door opened and Mai stood stunned at the door entrance.

Fortunately for all of them Natsuki and Shizuru were still covered by the sheets, but it was very obvious, what they were doing under the blanket.

"Oh my. . .s-sorry, I . . . I. . .w-w-will wait. . .uhm. . .bye. . ."

Mai stumbled out of the room and closed the door.

"Oh my god. . .I caught them red-handed. . .They were. . .don't think about it Mai. . . "

Meanwhile Natsuki and Shizuru lay in bed, unable to move. Shizuru’s fingers were still deep inside Natsuki and both blushed deeply.

"Did. . .did this just. . ."

“Yeah. . ."

Natsuki hid her face behind her hands, but started soon laughing, joined short after by Shizuru.

Shizuru pulled her fingers out and licked them clean. Natsuki observed her and it aroused her to no end to see Shizuru like this.

"I . . .I think we should. . . Mai might be waiting outside. . ."

"Yes, you are right my Natsuki, but don't think that we won't finish our little game."

Shizuru leant down and whispered seductively: "I want to taste Natsuki again."

The blunette gaped at her and blushed a deep red.

"You are unbelievable."

"You think so?"

Shizuru giggled and entangled herself from Natsuki. Then they started dressing. It was quite difficult to try and dress if you have a girlfriend that tries to get you out of your clothes every chance she gets.

After a few minutes even Natsuki was dressed and they both walked to the door. One last deep breath and Natsuki opened the door only to find Mai leaning against the wall next to the door.

"Mai?"

The red-head flinched and looked at the two other women. She immediately blushed after remembering why she waited outside in the first place.

"H-hi, uhm. . . Mikoto. . .Mikoto wants to talk to you t-two. . ."

She avoided looking them right into the eyes.

"Please follow me."

Both woman looked confused at each other and then followed Mai. Natsuki was still heavily blushing because she knew what Mai was thinking and she never liked to be seen in a private and emotional moment. And this moment has been very private in Natsuki’s eyes.

Soon they reached a huge wooden door and it opened itself to grant them entrance into Mikoto’s chambers.

There were a lot of different things. Most were used only by magicians so Natsuki didn't know what they were used for and she wasn't really interested in it either. On the right side was a giant bookshelf and on the left was a small table and a few chairs.

At the end of the room was Mikoto. She turned around after sensing that someone had entered her room and greeted them with a friendly smile.

"Hi there. Nice to see you again."

Natsuki was very nervous because she didn't know what would happen. It was prohibited to travel through time and it was a great felony if someone did it. She was afraid, that they would hurt Shizuru or worse, that she wouldn't be able to see her beloved anymore.

Mikoto didn’t want to play hide and seek with them so she asked a straightforward question, like always.

"Natsuki? I think there is a lot you have to tell us. I don't think that you are here because you wanted it. Maybe an accident?"

She looked at Shizuru who evaded her piercing golden eyes. This was all Mikoto needed to know.

"I will not punish you two, but Natsuki, you know the rules. It was wrong to risk revealing your true identity. It could have changed history completely. You have to stay here in the castle. The chances to meet your old friends or your mother are very small if you stay here. If you don't follow my instructions, your stubbornness will have severe consequences . . . for her."

She looked first at Natsuki and then at Shizuru.

"I understand."

Shizuru took Natsuki’s hand and squeezed it gently.

"Good. It's no problem for Mai and me to know, but none other must know that you are here. I will try to find a way to sent you back. So. . . Could you please tell me exactly what happened?"

Natsuki looked at Shizuru and then started telling her story.

"Okay, so you two don't know exactly why you are here, right?"

"No, at first I thought Shizuru had just rebuilt the whole castle, but soon I found out, that I was wrong. Afterwards she was very exhausted. I think she used a huge amount of power or she can't control it and because of that she was so exhausted. Maybe. . .it's just an idea, but. . .if you train her to use her ability then eventually we can get back on our own."

"You want me to train Shizuru?"

"If possible, than yes."

Mikoto was silent for a few minutes and then looked at Shizuru. She could feel great potential in this young woman and if she trained her she might become quite powerful.

"What do you think, Shizuru?"

"I. . .I want to help, but I don't know if I am capable of using magic without getting out of control like the last times. I don't want to hurt Natsuki again. I. . . "

"Don't worry Shizuru. Mikoto is a very good teacher and in no time you will be able to control your powers. I trust you. So what do you think?"

"Okay, if Natsuki thinks I can do that."

Natsuki nodded and kissed her tenderly on the lips, ignoring the other occupants completely. Shizuru was stunned by Natsuki’s sudden affection, but didn't mind it one bit.

"Okay, now that things are clear, let's start with the basics. Mai, you and Natsuki will go outside. Shizuru needs to concentrate and I am very sure, that she can't do that with Natsuki by her side."

"But. . ."

Natsuki wanted to refuse, but one glance from Mikoto she kept silent and followed Mai outside.

After closing the door Mai said: "Don't worry, Mikoto won't hurt your precious girlfriend."

"Wha. . .She isn't . . .I . . .sigh. . ."

"Natsuki, even if you are an adult right now, I can read you like an open book. You love her. I can see it in your eyes and I'm very happy, that you've found your soul mate."

"How. . ."

"You don't remember my abilities?" Mai laughed.

"Believe me; I can sense that you two belong together."

"How can you say that Mai? I mean. . . Yes, I love her but . . .what happens, when my love isn't enough to overcome our differences?"

"You worry way too much. I think some things never change. You will find a way. Just stay together and nothing can hurt you."

Natsuki only nodded, not quite believing her best friends words. But one thing was crystal clear. She would never willingly leave Shizuru’s side.

After another silent minutes they were back again at Natsuki’s and Shizuru’s room.

"You want something to eat while you wait?"

"No, thanks I am fine, but . . . why don't you ask more questions? If I were you . . . I would definitely be curious about the whole situation."

“Natsuki, Natsuki . . . I don't have to ask, because all the answers I can read them in your eyes. And I am sure that Mikoto thinks the same way. But the important part is that we don't want to pry too much into your private life. I mean. . . It was enough to see you two together . . . like you know. . . That was way too much information."

Natsuki glared and blushed after Mai’s comment. The red-head left the room and Natsuki could hear her giggling till she was out of reach.

"Sigh. . .this is getting so annoying. . ."

She went to the window and looked outside.

_Shizuru. . ._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** Mikoto’s room: **

"Okay Shizuru, I want you to concentrate. Just relax."

Shizuru sat down and closed her eyes. Her breathing was even, but her mind was not cleared. Her thoughts circled around a certain blunette.

"Shizuru, if you want that to work you have to clear your mind of all unnecessary thoughts, even thoughts about your girlfriend. Try again."

Shizuru sighed, but did what Mikoto wanted. It was difficult at first, but within a few minutes her mind was cleared of all thoughts and she felt at peace.

"That’s good, Shizuru. Now, I want you to concentrate on your guardian. It is essential for your training, because it contains a huge amount of your power."

The brunette tried to picture her guardian, but she instantly regretted that, because she thought about the events she had hurt Natsuki and almost killed her. She wanted to stop.

"No, don't stop. I know it's difficult, but you have to try, otherwise you won't be able to use your powers."

A lone tear trailed down her cheeks, but she endured the horrible pictures and kept going. Slowly the scene changed and instead of a bleeding Natsuki she saw a quiet lake and the wind blew softly through the trees. It was a very peaceful scenery.

"What do you see?"

"A lake. . .it is beautiful."

"Keep going."

Shizuru neared the lake and looked down. Instead of her own image she saw a snake, a huge purple snake. She looked closer and seconds later she stepped back, because this giant monster started coming closer until it stood directly in front of Shizuru.

Water cascaded down its body. It was stunningly beautiful. The sun rose behind the beast, giving it a mysterious glow. But what got Shizuru’s attention were its golden eyes, that were fixed on her alone.

Then she silently heard Mikoto’s voice.

"Call its name. That's the seal you have to break to control it."

"But. . .how should I know. . ."

She looked closely into the snakes eyes. Her eyes widened and she knew what she had to say.

"Kiyohime. . ." Shizuru whispered silently.

The snake roared and charged at Shizuru. It happened so fast, that she couldn't evade the attack.

"Congratulation, Shizuru."

The brunette opened her eyes and looked at a smiling Mikoto. Then she felt a weight in her lap and looked down. A small snake, like the one she had seen in her "dream", laid in her lap and looked at her.

"Kiyohime. . ."

The snake looked like it smiled and then cuddled more into Shizuru. The brunette pats the snake and smiled.

_I've really done it._

"Very good Shizuru. You are really talented. I never thought that after just a few hours you would get so far in controlling your powers and guardian. This was a huge step. A guardian is absolutely necessary for a magician. Keep this in mind. If the guardian dies, than the magician will soon follow. You are connected to each other and this bond can't take severe damage. You are now one."

"Okay, I won't forget that."

"Let’s call it a day. You must be tired. Tomorrow we will intensify our training."

"Thank you Mikoto sensei." Shizuru bowed and left the room.

The small snake laid on her shoulder and was content being near its master.

Shizuru looked at the purple snake and whispered: "Hopefully Natsuki won't be afraid. But you really look so cute."

Kiyohime yawned and smiled at Shizuru.

Together they walked to Natsuki and Shizuru’s room. She breathed in deeply and opened the door, only to find it. . .empty.

"Natsuki? Where are you?"

Getting no response she put Kiyohime down on the bed and searched for her beloved girlfriend.

_Where could she be?_

Shizuru was too exhausted to search for her little puppy so she laid down next to Kiyohime and decided to take a little nap. Natsuki would definitely come back soon.

Shortly after Shizuru fell asleep a certain blunette walked through the door.

_Oh, Shizuru is back._

Cautiously she walked to the bed and sat next to the sleeping brunette.

_She is really cute._

Natsuki smiled and tenderly caressed Shizuru’s cheek. Suddenly she heard a funny noise and the next thing she knew she laid on the ground and a giant snake held her down. This beast looked directly into Natsuki’s surprised emerald orbs.

The commotion woke the peacefully sleeping brunette up and she immediately called out to Kiyohime. The snake let go of Natsuki and decreased to her former size.

Shizuru jumped out of the bed and kneeled next to the still motionless blunette.

"Natsuki? Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. . .I mean it is nothing new to get tackled to the floor by your guardian."

"Gomen."

Shizuru evaded Natsuki’s gaze because she didn't want to see Natsuki’s angry face. To her surprise she was engulfed in a warm hug.

"Idiot. I'm not angry. But please tell your pet, that I am one of the good people."

Natsuki smiled and both started laughing.

"So. . .the first training lesson was successful?"

"Hai, Mikoto told me, that if I can control my guardian the rest won't be so difficult, because we share the same power and Kiyohime is my source of energy. Tomorrow we will train some more and I'm curious if I get to fight with my guardian."

"Maybe next time I can watch?"

"I will ask Mikoto, but that should be no problem, my Natsuki."

"Thanks, Shizuru."

Natsuki hugged her beloved girlfriend once again. Then they both walked to the bed and sat down. There Natsuki got a better look at Shizuru’s new pet. She looked a little bit cute, even if she was only a snake.

"Uhm. . .Shizuru?"

"Yes, my Natsuki."

"Uhm. . .you know. . .your pet. . .it. . .how should I put it. . .It looks at me funny. . ."

Natsuki looked at Shizuru with her puppy eyes.

"She wants to get to know you, that's all. Isn't it cute?"

Shizuru pat her snake and smiled.

"I would say it's kinda creepy. But hey, it is your snake."

"Natsuki ikezu."

Shizuru pouted cutely. This got her the desired effect. Natsuki leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips as apology.

"Gomen, she is cute, just like her master."

Natsuki nuzzled Shizuru’s neck and left a few butterfly kisses here and there. The brunette only blushed and enjoyed the touch of her lover. Meanwhile Kiyohime laid down on the cushions and tried to sleep.

"You know, it is not that bad, that we are stuck here in this time. I mean, I want to go back, but as long as Natsuki is by my side everything’s fine."

Natsuki backed away and gazed lovingly into her girlfriend eyes.

"I will never leave you, love."

She kissed the brunette once again, but this time with all the love she felt. It was a very tender, soul searching kiss.

Seconds later they separated, both heavily panting.

"That was. . ."

"Yeah, I know."

Just in this romantic moment Natsuki’s stomach started grumbling. She blushed heavily and looked off to the side.

"Ara, my puppy seems to be hungry."

"Yeah. . .a little bit."

"Then let’s ask Mai if she cooks something for you and later you can have a special dessert."

Shizuru walked to the door and Natsuki followed.

"What do you mean, Shizuru? What special. . .oh. . ."

Shizuru looked back and smirked at the blushing blunette. She couldn't let this chance pass. So she stepped next to Natsuki and whispered seductively in her ear: "I want to taste Natsuki’s human form, too."

She licked at Natsuki’s earlobe and then left without another word, leaving the stunned blunette alone.

"SHIZURU. . .!"

In the hallway a giggling brunette kept walking.

_Ara, I wonder what the other people might think if they've heard Natsuki scream like that. Fufu._

Minutes later Natsuki followed Shizuru and they silently walked to the kitchen. Natsuki was still embarrassment because of the latest events and it was better to keep silent and avoid possible teases.

"Okay, here we are. The castles' kitchen."

"It's really beautiful. I presume this is Mai’s doing, right?"

"Yes, every time I tried to get inside she would kick me out and say I was a troublemaker and would probably destroy the whole kitchen. I wanted to make a cake for my mother that time. It's one of my most precious memories."

Shizuru looked at Natsuki without saying anything. She just watched the blunette who stood in the kitchen looking with a sad smile around the room.

"Mai is not here. This is our chance to cook by ourselves."

Natsuki smiled and Shizuru got a very bad feeling.

"Natsuki? Maybe you should just sit down and let me do the cooking. I don't want to tell Mai later why her whole kitchen burned down."

The blunette glared at her girlfriend, but followed her orders and sat down on a chair and waited.

"Such a good puppy."

Natsuki still glared, but somehow this turned into a smile as she saw the brunette walking through the kitchen searching for ingredients and other things she needed to prepare the meal.

_We are like a married couple. Shizuru would definitely be a very good wife._

Upon her unusual thought Natsuki blushed. She was thankful that Shizuru had turned her back towards her.

The gargoyle couldn't resist her next moves. She stood right behind her girlfriend and hugged her. It felt so good and absolutely right at this moment.

"Natsuki?"

"I just. . .I . . ."

Natsuki buried her head in Shizuru’s shoulder blades and inhalt her sent deeply.

"I love you."

The words were muffled, but Shizuru heard them nonetheless and this was one of the happiest moments in her life.

"If Natsuki wants to eat something, she has to let go of me eventually."

Shizuru smiled and waited for the surely flustered reaction of her little puppy.

"G-g-gome. . ."

Natsuki let go of Shizuru and sat on the chair a few feet away.

She was blushing heavily and avoiding every eye contact with her lover.

_So cute._

As to not embarrass Natsuki further, Shizuru resumed her cooking.

Natsuki on the other hand dared to look back at her lover and smiled once again as she saw the brunette working in the kitchen.

_I'm so lucky to have her by my side._

The minutes went on and finally Natsuki got a delicious meal presented in front of her.

There was a huge piece of meat for the hungry gargoyle and some vegetables. It looked delicious and Natsuki’s mouth watered extremely after seeing what Shizuru had cooked.

"Itatekimas." Both said simultaneously and began digging into their food.

_This is really delicious._

The blunette was very happy, that she hadn't suggested waiting for Mai. Shizuru was an extraordinary good cook and she decided to try and get her to cook more often.

Meanwhile the brunette observed Natsuki’s cute reactions. It was obvious, that the blunette really liked the food she had prepared.

_Even when eating she's extremely cute._

The gargoyle was the first one to finish her meal and Shizuru soon followed. Just as she wanted to get up and wash the plates, Natsuki stopped her and did this task all by herself.

To say Shizuru was stunned was an understatement. She was speechless. She would have never expected Natsuki to be so gentleman-like. She was really lucky to have such a considerate girlfriend.

"Thank you, Natsuki."

Natsuki looked back and smiled.

"You are very welcome, love."

Unbeknownst to them a smiling red-head closed the kitchen door after observing them for a few minutes.

_You really have matured a lot, Natsuki._

\------------------------------------------------

Mai walked back to Mikoto to get some details about Shizuru’s first training session.

She walked without knocking through the open door and was immediately hugged by a very happy Mikoto.

"Mai!"

Mikoto hugged the surprised red-head and snuggled close to here, her head resting between Mai’s big breasts. She really liked being this close to her girlfriend.

"Uhhm. . . Mikoto? Could you please let go of me? This is kinda embarrassing and the door isn't closed. If someone walks by. . ."

"But I like hugging Mai." Mikoto looked up, a pout visible on her face.

"Sigh, you are unbelievable."

Mikoto nodded and resumed her position.

Mai pat her head and sighed once again.

"So, how was the first training session?"

Mikoto looked up again and smiled at Mai.

"She is quite talented. After a few hours she got her guardian under control. Tomorrow I will check her fighting skills." She smirked evilly.

"Are you sure, that it is not too soon for a battle? I mean, she is still at the beginning. . ."

"I know, but I am curious what she is capable of."

"Her girlfriend won't be happy."

"That's exactly the reason why I don't want her to watch during these training sessions. She would definitely try to rescue Shizuru if something happens. But a   real magician has to fight and defend himself even if the chances to win are almost zero."

"That's harsh to say."

"I know, but Natsuki won't be able to protect Shizuru all the time. She is very strong, but against a magician she doesn't have a chance. Her strength is more physical. And I am sure that they will have to face situations where only Shizuru can save them. She has to be prepared for such a situation."

Mai was getting curious. Mikoto knew something that she didn't want to share with her beloved. But why? What fate will the two lovers face in the future? She didn't ask more about this matter, because she knew from experience that Mikoto wouldn't tell her anymore.

"Then all we can do is train them at best as we can."

"Hai."

They both smiled and soon after the two hugged each other again, but this time a small kiss was involved beforehand.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile Shizuru and Natsuki were back in their room. Shizuru played with Kiyohime while Natsuki sat on the window sill observing the peaceful city in front of her. She wished to be there and just walk around the city like in former times. But foremost she wanted to show Shizuru her hometown like she had promised to do.

Natsuki gazed back at Shizuru who was still playing with her pet.

_I love you so much._

Without thinking Natsuki walked back to the bed and sat next to her beloved.

"Natsuki?"

Shizuru didn't realize that Natsuki was next to her until she felt the weight on the bed shift. She looked at the blunette a little bit confused.

The blunette, still deep in thought, brought her right hand up and caressed Shizuru’s soft left cheek tenderly.

"Natsuki?"

This time the blunette gazed deeply in to her eyes. She slowly moved closer to her lover and after full five seconds their lips finally met in a tender kiss. This kiss was filled with pure love. There was no lust right now, only deep love for each other.

Natsuki’s hand moved down to Shizuru’s neck. She felt the soft tresses caress her hand. Pulling the brunette closer she started deepening the kiss.

Getting the hint Shizuru softly licked across Natsuki’s bottom lip to get access to her mouth.

She didn't have to wait long. Almost immediately Natsuki’s lips opened and Shizuru pushed her tongue slowly in to let it meet its partner in crime. Both tongues battled for dominance and it looked like Shizuru would win.

Soon after they separated because the need to breath was just too great. They both gazed lovingly at each other. Now their eyes showed not love anymore. They showed more lust for each other and they knew what the other needed right now.

"Shizuru. . ."

Natsuki almost moaned her lovers name.

Then without waiting for a reply she gently licked down Shizuru’s neck, tasting her uniquely flavored skin.

_Even her skin tastes like her beloved tea._

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Finally after so many years another chapter done. This will probably be the last update for a long time. I will finish this story definitely, but I have to get new ideas and right now I want to write some more chapters for my other story: Love is the greatest power on Earth (Frozen / Elsanna)

 

Sorry for the long wait . . .

 

Hope you enjoy the new chapter and let me know what you think! Reviews are always very welcome! J

 

Have a great day!

 

See ya.

 


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